Lion of the Vale
by Katie Macpherson
Summary: Neville Longbottom considered himself lucky to survive the war but when an accident involving a cursed object in the Department of Mysteries goes awry, the only son of House Longbottom finds himself in Westeros as the eldest son of Jon and Lysa Arryn. But when tragedy strikes House Arryn Neville finds himself the new Lord of the Vale in a time where magic is desperately needed.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Cold…it was so cold…

He knew that death was by no means a warm entity but he had not expected it to be this frigid.

Nor had he expected it to be this long either. Death was supposed to carry with it sensory finality. He wasn't supposed to feel anything after the initial impact. There was supposed to be a blunt force emanating fearful torque that would crush him or a sharp pain that would make him stiffen up like a board before his limbs ceased to move forever…but not this…not this sensation of falling.

Nor was there supposed to be this feeling of shrinkage, like he was growing smaller and smaller and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

But then again he really hadn't expected for this to happen at all.

It had been his own fault really. He should have known better to open that box alone and certainly without taking even more precautions then he had.

He was an Unspeakable damn it, they were supposed to be trained in handling dangerous unknown objects.

But here he had barrelled through as if he were still the same clumsy nervous lion that he had been back in his early school years.

 _If Gran could see me now,_ he had thought.

He had thought that he had been careful, was sure of it even. He had cast the necessary diagnostic charms to ensure that the trunk that had been brought in was not cursed and the results had come back negative. There had been no ancient runes on the box which also made him think that whatever it contained was harmless.

It was a lesson to never judge a book by its cover…or trunk as it were.

Not that it would matter much now though.

It had been brought in from a raid of one of the houses of a former Death Eater even though the war had been over for over a decade.

That in itself should have raised alarm bells for him.

Even though the war had been over for a significant amount of time those two words still caused the hair on the back of his neck to rise.

He still couldn't his visit his parents in the hospital without thinking of the psychotic bitch that had put them there.

It didn't matter that they had been all hunted down and killed or given life in Azkaban…the mention of Riddle's black robed followers was enough to inspire fear and trepidation in a good deal of the new generation of wizards who had risen up after the war.

They didn't scare Neville anymore, in fact he didn't even feel loathing. Bellatrix and her husband were gone and couldn't hurt anyone anymore…as was the mad man who had led them towards magical genocide.

But it didn't mean that he still wasn't affected by the words.

Which was why when they had brought the trunk in from the home of a former Death Eater which had been raided because of suspicious activity in the home, he had been wary.

His wife herself had brought it to him.

"Be careful with this one darling," Susan had said as she placed the trunk in front of him. "I don't have a good feeling about it."

As head of the DMLE and following in her aunt's footsteps, for Susan to lead a raid herself meant that it was high priority. That was what had alerted Neville to the fact that this was not a normal object.

He had told Susie that it would take some time to examine and then he would be home and she had given him a look that had said he had better be careful.

Irony was a funny thing.

Neville knew he had a tendency to be too absorbed in his work but it was difficult at times not to be. For a few years after he had graduated, he had taught herbology at Hogwarts, and though he loved the discipline itself, he couldn't bring himself to have the same feelings toward the students. There were some he got along with very well and then others that made him not want to come into work in the morning. But perhaps it was because the castle held too many memories for him to ever make his job completely happy.

He had had to make a trip to the Ministry one day and had run into a fiery red head that had seemed oddly familiar. She had had flashing brown eyes and freckles across her nose and cheeks and Neville was suddenly reminded of a red headed badger that he had had a huge crush on since his third year of school.

He had swallowed hard suddenly feeling like a thirteen year old again, not even noticing that she was watching him too.

Neville had just made up his mind to go up to her and talk to her when she had obliged his secret wish.

 _"Neville Longbottom?" She had exclaimed as she came toward him, nearly startling him half out of his skin. "Merlin, is that really you?"_

 _He had blinked and managed a smile as the scarlet haired beauty had come up to him with a stunning smile on her face. "Susan...it's good to see you."_

 _"It's been a long time," she had said. "How have you been?"_

 _Neville had remembered then that he was in fact not a thirteen year old so he could not go about stuttering like one._

 _"Life has been quiet Susie," he said using the nickname he had given her a few times when they were in school. "But I certainly enjoy the quiet. My Gran on the other hand has been saying something needs to happen in order to shake things up a bit. She says my job is a waste of my talents."_

 _Susan had frowned. "You're still working at Hogwarts aren't you? The herbology professor?"_

 _He smiled, pleased that she remembered. "I am, though I have been feeling somewhat...stifled with the job."_

 _Susan cocked her head to one side and smiled up at him. "And why is that?"_

 _Neville ran a hand through his messy brown hair and sighed as if frustrated. "I love herbology but lately I feel as if there is more I could be doing, like I am wasting potential where I am."_

 _"Are you happy?" Susan asked getting straight to the point._

 _Neville wrestled with himself for a moment. "No, if I am being completely honest, I am not. But I don't know what to do about it."_

 _Susan tapped her finger against her cheek as if she were thinking. "If I remember correctly when we were in school, herbology wasn't your only strong subject. It was your favorite but you excelled at ancient runes, charms and warding."_

 _"Charms?" Neville asked incredulously. "You do recall that I almost set a pile of books on fire in my first year?"_

 _Susan laughed. "I had forgotten about that. And that was first year. You were nervous and unsure of yourself. You became much better after that. If I recall correctly you really came into your own in your later years in school. You were the leader of Dumbledore's army during the year that Harry Hermione and Ron were on the run."_

 _Neville chuckled to himself. "I might have been a leader but I certainly didn't feel brave. I was terrified almost every day."_

 _"We all were," Susan said gently. "But that doesn't mean that we didn't stop fighting. If anything we fought harder for what we wanted. But you were a large part of that."_

 _"Me? What did I do?"_

 _Susan laughed. "You helped all of us keep our sanity with the Carrows around and Snape as professor. There were many times when I thought I wouldn't make it through the year. But all I had to do was look at your hopeful attitude and I would feel better."_

 _Neville was floored. He had had no idea that he had had that sort of an impact on those students in his class. "Really?"_

 _"Really," Susan had said with a smile. "Now why don't you and I talk about the possibility of a new job for you over dinner tomorrow? I might have one here in the Ministry that you would be good at."_

 _"Dinner?" Neville had asked stupidly._

 _"Yes dinner," Susan said looking amused and he felt even more the idiot. "You still eat dinner don't you?"_

 _"Of course," he said hoping he wasn't as red as he felt._

 _"Good."_

One dinner had turned into two and then four and soon enough the pair had become exclusive and Neville was asking to put a ring on her finger.

Before long they were standing before an altar with all their friends and family about them, clapping and cheering as Neville and Susan said their vows and pledged to be together forever.

Neville recalled it was one of the few times that his gran had smiled.

They had had four children together, three sons and a daughter all of who, had helped to heal the ache in Neville's heart after the war and make him far more confident than the shy teacher he had been when he and Susan had met.

Neville had grown to greatly enjoy this role as an Unspeakable, something he worked at for almost ten years that thrice damned box had come into his life.

The training to become one had been the most vigorous testing the former Gryffindor had ever gone through but he had never been more pleased than when he had been given his pale grey robes and told to report to the Department of Mysteries.

His work was so secret that even Susie didn't know everything even though she was head of the DMLE.

For years everything had been peaceful

And then it had all been fucked up by the arrival of that object from a former Death Eater's home.

The moment he was sure it was safe, Neville had carefully opened the box to be blasted backward through the department of mysteries before he even realized what was happening.

In truth he should have had his wits about him faster but he was so surprised his thoughts were muddled for a moment.

Before he realized what was happening, a cold darkness had enveloped him before he registered too late that it was the Veil.

No! He wanted to scream. I can't die, not yet! I have a wife and children who I need to get back to!

But the Veil was not a sentient creature and so did not hear...it only collected...taking and never giving back.

The last thing Neville thought of before the darkness closed in around him was Susan's beautiful face and those of his three sons and his daughter.

They wouldn't even have a body to bury...he was just gone.

Ω

It had been a long time since Jon Arryn had been in such a hurry before. Not since he was a much younger man had he ridden as hard or as fast. He could feel his bones creaking as he hunched over the saddle and feel the sweat running down the sides of his face and into his salt and pepper hair as the sun beat down on him from on high.

 _Today would be the day that Lysa goes into labour,_ he thought absently to himself. T _oday of all days when I am away from the Eyrie. I have been purposefully staying in the keep for weeks leading up to this so I would be around for the birth of our first born. And nothing, she hadn't even experienced any labour pains. And now on this day of all days when I am away to handle some business...it happens._

He supposed he should count himself lucky that he was only a few hours ride from the Eyrie when a messenger came huffing and puffing after him.

He had taken Robert with him and left Ned there as it was not necessary for the other boy to go.

Now the two of them were thundering back to the Eyrie atop their frothing steads.

"The horses will need to be rubbed down well when we return!" Robert shouted over the whistling of the wind past their ears. "Gods Jon, I did not know you could ride this hard! How long has it been?"

The aging lord of the Vale fixed his ward with a glare. Robert and Ned and Lysa were the only ones he allowed to call him by his first name.

"When you become a father Robert, I think you will understand," he said leaning even further over the neck of his horse, if that was even possible.

The heir to Storms End merely laughed.

Jon's thoughts immediately turned back to his pregnant wife who might give birth at any moment.

He had been uncomfortable with the idea of marrying someone so much younger than him, but the Vale demanded an heir and now that poor Elbert was dead from an

unfortunate hunting accident, forcing the aging lord to produce.

Jon had accepted that he would not marry when he had chosen his brother's son to be his heir and news of his death had been a terrible shock.

But that was behind him now and though Lysa was barely older than a child, he had accepted the marriage as there was no other choice. For one thing, it would be a smart option given that Lysa's older sister Catelyn was to wed Brandon Stark in a few years time and it would join houses Stark, Tully and Arryn in an alliance which was not something to be overlooked.

So despite his qualms, he had married her and was pleasantly surprised so far. Lysa was a bit more outspoken then her older sister who was demure and dutiful and obedient, many good qualities in a daughter for Hoster Tully.

Hosted Tully was another factor in this marriage and had been all too eager to see both of his daughters married off to two lords paramount. His grandchildren would inherit both the east and the north.

The aging lord ran his hand through his close cropped salt and golden hair Soon there would be more white than blonde in it and he smiled grimly. It was yet another reason for the urgency of producing an heir. He was not getting any younger and the stiffness that was beginning to creep into his bones when he got up in the mornings as the early day mist rose from the tops of the mountains of the Vale was evidence of that.

The time seemed to fly by before he and Robert began to ascend up to the Vale. The Eyrie itself loomed high ahead of them. Jon could proudly lay claim to one of the oldest lines of Andal nobility. The Eyrie itself was situated in the Mountains of the Moon astride the peak called the Giant's Lance, which was several hundred feet above the valley below.

Though it was somewhat small compared to the seats of other great houses, like Winterfell, Casterly Rock or Highgarden, the Eyrie was considered nigh on impregnable to attack. The only problem was that it was so bloody cold in winter as their was nothing to block the wind in the ancestral keep and being so high up, they were susceptible to each buffet of wind.

The castle itself consisted of only a cluster of seven slim white towers bunched tightly together. They could hold up to five hundred men either soldiers or guests, and the keep was made of fine white stone. All seven towers encircled a garden which had been meant as a godswood, but no weirwood tree had ever taken root in the stony soil and only contained grass, shrubbery and statues.

Jon had ensured that his wife was given rooms which overlooked the garden as he knew she liked them.

The barracks and the stables were carved directly into the mountain which served as a perfectly convenient defence. There was a large granary and a sept which serviced the keep as well.

The waterfall that was known as Alyssa's Tears could be heard there as well. The waterfall lay on the western side of the Giant's Lance. The place received its name in a rather gruesome way for Alyssa Arryn, who had been an ancient member of House Arryn saw her family butchered before her and never shed a tear.

But Jon didn't like to think about that story much.

In fact there were many stories attached to the history of the Vale before the Andal invaders had come.

One of the most famous were the legends of the winged king who had driven the First Men from the Vale and flew to the top of the Giant's Lance on a huge falcon to slay the Griffin King.

Whether that actually occurred or not and whether the man had wings was something that was hotly debated, but Jon chose not to think on it too much.

His mount seemed to be struggling as he and Robert thundered up the high road, feeling the air and wind whistle past their ears like the howl of a banshee.

The long road that led up to the keep was high above the ground and was the only way to the keep which was one of the reasons that it was impregnable. In the sunlight, the entire keep which was perched atop the great peak would gleam stark white in the sun as it was doing now. The moment they passed through the gates which led into the main courtyard of the Eyrie, Jon all but leapt from his horse and threw the reins to one of his waiting servants before dashing inside.

Ned was pacing about in the High Hall, as a grim a look as Jon had ever seen on his youthful face. The youth of fourteen had quietly suggested that he remain behind to keep an eye on Lady Lysa as she was sure to give birth any day now so that he might send word to Jon right away if anything happened.

And Jon was bloody glad he had.

The second son of lord Rickard looked up at their approach and some of the tension seemed to leave his face.

There was no one else in the hall at the time and Jon was glad for it as that meant that there would be no one there to view him in his state of disquiet. It was bad enough that his wards were seeing him this way.

As the high hall was where the household primarily took meals and it was sometime in the afternoon, it was not surprising that the place was empty. It was a long austere hall which contained walls made of blue veined white marble and at the far end of it sat the throne of the Arryns which was a tree carved from weir wood. There were narrow arched windows between the torches mounted on high silver sconces.

But it all seemed a blur to Jon in this moment.

"Am I too late?" He demanded of the quiet wolf in a low sort of growl that had Robert raising an eyebrow at him. Normally Jon was not the forceful or out spoken type but giving that his lady wife was about to give birth to his first child and gods how he hoped it would be a son, he considered it understandable.

Eddard opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a new voice.

"You are just in time my lord," it said. "Come."

Jon turned to see the man who was acting as his steward, Nestor Royce standing across the room.

The man had a slight smile on his face as if he knew something Jon didn't and it annoyed the aging lord.

"Well what are we waiting for?" He demanded and hurried after the steward who strode down the halls of the Eyrie and towards the apartments he shared with Lysa.

There was a sharp cry from within and Jon's jaw tightened as he quickened his stride towards the doors.

But then there came a sound which made him stop in his tracks as if the Others had stolen his blood.

It was a soft mewling cry as if the voice from which it had come was just learning how to use it and Jon felt the blood drain from his face.

He all but ran to the door of their apartments and flung it open to see the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Lysa was lying in the bed across the room, her cheeks pink and her red hair mused, but her blue eyes sparkled like nothing he had ever seen before. He was only caught up in how lovely she looked for no more than a moment however before his gaze was captured by something different and altogether more wonderful.

Lying in his young wife's arms was a small bundle wrapped tightly in white cloth, from which the soft mewling cries emanated.

Jon was barely aware that his knees were shaking and fingers were trembling. To his knowledge he made no sound, but some noise must have emitted from his vocal cords for in that moment, his wife looked up at him.

Her face lit up and her clear blue eyes brightened with something that was caused by more than the light from the sun that was coming in from the window.

"My love, you've come!" She said in a gentle voice even as Jon somehow managed to remain upright. "Come...Come and meet your son."

Jon was barely aware that he was blinking stupidly and wanted to curse himself under his breath. Somehow he rallied however and walked stiffly towards he bed, his steps becoming slower as he walked over on his wife's side and came around to view the small bundle that would change his life forever.

Son...

His son...

By all the gods old and new...he had a son!

With a trembling hand the aging lord of the Vale reached out and gentle drew back the wrap from the top of his son's head so he could look on that little face.

His breath caught in his throat as the sight of his heir met his eyes for the first time.

The small face bore strikingly Arryn features. There was the same shape of the nose and cheekbones as well as the shape of her mouth.

His eyes though...those were all Tully. A deep blue colour gazed back at him and even though Jon had blue eyes, those eyes were a deep a blue as the waters that ran through the Riverlands. He had the faint colour of blonde hair that all Arryn's did which would come in more as he aged but all in all, the boy was a wonderful mix of both of his parents.

Jon's legs nearly gave out beneath him, so great was his emotion and he had to sit down on the bed for fear of stumbling and looking like a fool.

Lysa held the small bundle out to him. "Won't you hold him my love? He looks so like you. He is truly an Arryn of the Vale."

"Aye," the old falcon said hoarsely as the weight of his son settled into his arms. "Except for the eyes Lysa. Those are all Tully."

The red head chuckled. "Indeed. But he will have more of your look as he grows than mine I think."

Jon laughed thickly as the eyes of his firstborn gazed up at him. He seemed oddly focused for a newborn and had turned his head at both the sound of Jon and Lysa's voices.

"He is an Arryn," he said proudly. "And he will one day become the Defender of the Vale."

The couple were quiet for several long moments, simply content to watch their son's face without saying anything."

"Have you thought of a name my love?" Jon asked finally as if loathe to break the silence. "I know we didn't discuss it, but at the moment I am drawing a blank in my own mind."

Lysa chuckled slightly and gave him a fond smile. "I did. It was somewhat sudden but the moment he was placed in my arms, all names that I had thought of before disappeared in favour of this one."

"Very well," her husband said. "Tell me what it is."

"Jasper," his wife replied. "Jasper Arryn, after your father, the heir to the Eyrie and Defender of the Vale."

Jon suddenly found he had to swallow several times before he was able to speak again. The hair on the back of his neck had stood on end as his wife said the name in a low voice.

"It is perfect," he said thickly. "A strong name for a strong son of House Arryn. Thank you Lysa...thank you."

"For the babe or the name?" She asked sounding amused.

"Both," he said softly before kissing her on the forehead and wrapping his son more tightly in his arms before making the door.

He wanted to show his son the High Hall and the throne of House Arryn that he would sit on when he was older.

As soon as Jon opened the door however, He was presented with his two wards, both of whom were on the opposite side of the hallway.

He almost wanted to laugh at the picture they were presenting.

Ned was sitting quietly on the wooden bench there with his hand folded on his lap and his head leaning back against the wall, eyes staring off into space as if in deep thought which he usually was.

Robert on the other hand was pacing the hall like a caged animal. His hands tightened into fists and loosened every few seconds. His head was down and his face scrunched into a frown as he glared at the floor, almost like he was daring it for a fight.

When Jon quietly shut the door behind him, both of his wards jumped and then whirled to face him.

Well...Robert whirled, Ned turned more slowly.

Upon the sight of the bundle in Jon's arms, both young men's faces lit up with smiles, though Robert's was far more pronounced than Ned's.

"Is it- " the heir to Storm's End began but was cut off somewhat gently by Jon who was gazing at the babe's face with a smile.

"Robert," he said. "Ned...I would like to introduce you to my son. Jasper Arryn...the heir to the Eyrie and the future Lord Paramount of the Vale and Warden of the east."

As the two youths gathered around, the small bundle with the deep blue eyes blinked and seemed to focus on the two new faces with surprising ease.

"I believe congratulations are in order Lord Arryn," Ned said somewhat formally and Robert laughed loudly before clapping the wolf on the back.

"Bugger the well wishes Ned! We need to do something. The Eyrie has an heir!"

Jon chuckled. "Aye, there will be a feast as soon as I can arrange it. The Lords of the Vale will need to come to see their new Lord at some point."

Robert looked mightily pleased at hearing this and Ned merely gave a small smile before the heir to Storm's End pulled him off somewhere.

Jon merely chuckled before walking with his new son slowly down the middle of the High Hall and to one of the high arched windows so they could look at the miles of mountains beyond.

"Do you see this Jasper?" The lord whispered. "Someday my son...someday this will all be yours. Rule it well my son, have children of your own, bring honour to the name of Arryn. The East will be yours my son."

And as he lay there in his father's arms, the boy who had once been Neville Longbottom wondered at the strange new world he had come to.

Ω


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

One of the things that worried Jon over the next few years of his son's life was just how quiet the boy was. He rarely if ever spoke or cried for that matter and his eyes were deep, deeper than a babe's should have been. He did not often smile either, forcing both of his parents to wonder if he was a…well a simpleton. Jasper only raised his lips or his eyes when he saw the garden in the middle of those seven white towers of the Eyrie. Even though no weirwood tree had ever taken root there, seeing nature seemed to lift the spirits of his son.

Jon was often worried about the boy given how serious he was and wondered if all Arryns were destined to bear the weight of their legacy on young shoulders.

If only he knew that Jasper's silence was born of a much different reason…that guilt was the reason that he suffered in silence. It was guilt that secluded the boy and made him think of cares that would have caused his parents to question his sanity.

Thoughts of Susan and her scarlet curls and laughing blue eyes danced through his mind several times a day, the memories of his children and how he had held them in his arms after they were born echoed in the small child's ears until he thought he would go mad from grief.

He didn't want to be a child in this strange world…he wanted to go home, to England and hold Susan in his arms, play with their children, teach his daughter about herbology and his sons how to fly their first broomsticks and see them off on the Hogwarts Express.

The knowledge that it had been a foolish accident that had sent him flying backwards through the Vale and his death had been nothing more than a lack of proper precautions only increased his guilt.

He couldn't even refer to himself as Jasper and in those first three years of his life, Neville's dreams were dominated by those of his children and beautiful Susan, calling to him as if they were asking him to come home.

But every time he tried to start toward them he would wake up.

It wasn't until he was three years old that something changed.

Both of Jon's wards had now known the little heir to the Eyrie for three years now and at seventeen years of age were close to becoming men.

There were times when Jasper would sit in one of the barracks of the Eyrie and watch the two of them spar. It was helpful in forgetting his own memories and interesting at the same time.

Seeing as how he did not have much to do and was not expected to do anything other than look and act like a child, it gave him a lot of extra time. Some of which was spent in the barracks watching Robert and Ned train.

Sword fighting and weaponry was all very new to Neville. The one and only time he had ever used a sword was when he had taken the sword of Gryffindor to Nagini's head in the war against Riddle.

Merlin but that had felt good to cut that disgusting creature's head off. But decapitating a snake and fighting a human being with steel were two completely different things and it both awed and scared the former Gryffindor.

This appeared to be a world without magic which was also something that was frightening. Neville had been a pureblood in his previous life so he had never been surrounded by a population that was dominated by Muggles.

And yet here he was.

The only comforting thing about this whole awful experience was the presence of his wand.

Neville had first noticed it a week after he had been born. It had been sitting on the window sill in the nursery and his eyes had almost fallen out of his head when he had seen it.

He supposed it made sense that it had appeared in this world. He had had it in his hand when he had fallen through the Vale and if he was here than so was it.

As soon as it was back in his hand Neville had felt the magic of it align with his core and had breathed a sigh of relief.

At least he still had magic.

As an Unspeakable, it was policy for him to have his wand on him at all times and in order to prevent such pesky things as being disarmed, they had always been instructed to bind their wands to the inside of their wrists.

Another pesky thing that had been resolved by the superiors of his department had been the concept of the boomerang charm and its application to all the wands of the Unspeakables in the Department. No matter where a wand was at the time, the Unspeakable only had to think about it and it would be right there in their hand.

Fortunately the wand had been in Neville's pocket when he had fallen through the Vale and so it had appeared in the new world with him.

He was glad that hadn't changed at least. He had no idea how he would have been able to function without magic.

Though from what Jon Arryn had told him he would be learning how to use a sword when he was older just like Robert and Ned were doing.

Those two were some of the strangest individuals that Neville had ever met. They were as different as night and day and yet they were the best of friends.

In a way they reminded Neville of his friends Harry and Ron.

They had both become Aurors straight out of school and bloody good ones too. Neville had become much closer with the both of them in their last few years of school since the formation of Dumbledore's Army and because he had been drawn further and further out of his shell with their help he knew he had friends for life in them.

In fact they had sometimes come down to the Department of Mysteries in order to give him strange objects that they had found on patrol that they needed him to take a look at.

Harry had married Ron's sister and Rob had married Hermione Granger which was a surprise to no one. He had been present at both of their weddings and they had stood up with him at his.

They were two individuals that Neville knew he would be able to count on and in a way it was comforting to imagine Ned and Robert and Harry and Ron.

Robert was obviously Ron with his loud and boisterous personality. He liked to eat, he liked his wine and his ale and he liked women.

That was Ron Weasley to a T. He was dependable and brave and would have your back in a fight no matter what but at the same time he often did things without thinking, had absolutely no tact and had a rather overbearing personality that made him difficult to tolerate in certain circumstances.

Despite how much they might like and respect each other, Jon and Robert would clash and butt heads more often than not.

But Ned…Ned was all Harry. He was far quieter than Robert and had a manner and way of thinking that often made one wonder where his mind was. He thought about things before he said them and seemed to hold honor as high as well…the sky for lack of a better word. He too was dependable and loyal just like Harry had been.

Neville just hoped it didn't get him killed like it had almost killed The Boy Who Lived more than once.

Despite all of their differences, both Robert and Ned were the best of friends and it was a friendship that worked for them.

Ned, being the second son did not seem to carry the weight of being the heir to the north on his shoulders. Robert however was the heir to the Stormlands who had been sent to foster in the Eyrie since his parents were killed in a ship wreck just off the coast of their ancestral keep.

He didn't seem to care for the idea of ruling from a keep at all and seemed far better suited to be a soldier than he did a ruler.

As for his own family, late in the evenings when he had been put down to sleep, Neville would take his wand in hand and sneak off to the Eyrie's library where he would read for hours so he might understand as much about this new world as possible.

There was certainly a lot to learn.

The Arryns and the east which he would one day rule were the oldest line of Andals that had come from the hills of Andalos centuries earlier. When they had taken the east and the Mountains of the Moon from the First Men that had occupied it, history had it that the Andals of the Vale united behind Ser Artys Arryn also known as the Falcon Knight to defeat King Robar Royce. It was said that Robar was slain the Battle of the Seven Stars by Artys and from there the First Men bent the knee and swore fealty to Artys who became the newly crowned King of the Mountain and the Vale. Songs from the ages past had said that Artys and the Winged Knight were one and the same man. The Winged Knight was said to have flown to the top of the Giant's Lance in which the Eyrie was built and slain the Griffin King. Those First Men who refused to bend the knee to his ancestors were forced into the Mountains of the Moon and became the Vale Mountain Clans. After that with the Targaryen invasion things became more and more complicated and Neville had pushed the book aside.

He would learn all of this later from a maester he was sure…after all he would be the Lord of the Eyrie one day.

Merlin but it was all so strange and overwhelming. He didn't even look the same anymore. He had hair golden locks and sky blue eyes like his father, although the blonde was beginning to fade. Gone were the brown hair and brown eyes that identified him as the last son of House Longbottom. His skin was fair and clear as the winds that whistled past the Giant's Lance and even his name paid no homage to who he once was.

Jasper Arryn…

He knew enough to know that it was the name of his grandfather in this world and the weight of that was a legacy that he would have to live up to.

He was used to being an only child and having big shoes to fill but after the war duty didn't seem to matter as much anymore to him.

Now it seemed that duty was everything to him.

His daughter in his old life, Amelia had been her name. She had been a serious girl, not like her brothers who had retained their mother's boisterous personality. She had Susan's red hair but his brown eyes and shared his love for plants and herbology.

They had bonded for hours in the greenhouse that was at the back of the Longbottom estate and Neville had many fond memories showing her the different kind of plants.

He had had a feeling that she would be the head of Hufflepuff House one day. Duty and doing the right thing had meant a lot to her as well.

While his sons had all wanted to be Aurors like their mother, Amelia was a quiet girl who liked nothing better than to learn something new and be with the plants.

Merlin but he missed her.

He had had a duty to her and her mother and her brothers and now it was difficult to get out from under the crushing weight that he had abandoned them all with his death.

Neville knew that his new parents were worried about how quiet he was but he would never be able to tell them what was truly wrong…they would think him insane.

It was difficult having the mind of a thirty plus year old in the body of a three year old. Neville already knew how to read and write and speak like someone twice his age. But he was hesitant to do so as he would labeled a prodigy.

He had always been shy about drawing a spotlight to himself and there were things in this world that he did not know how to do.

Suppose they expected him to be an expert swordsman?

Suppose they expected him to know politics or strategy at this age?

He knew he was being ridiculous but at the same time it was difficult to help it.

And then something happened shortly after his third name day that had a hand in changing his perspective.

He had been sitting on a bench in one of the barracks watching Ned and Robert go at it hammer and tongs for about an hour. As usual Robert was using his favored war hammer which was a devastating weapon in its own right.

Robert at seven and ten was a tall man and very strong. He was able to carry a log as thick as his head around the training yard, something which had made Ned laugh and Neville smile briefly.

Ned too was using a warhammer but Neville could see that he was much less proficient at it than the heir to Storm's End. Practice with different weapons was something that

Jon Arryn stressed to his two wards in order to increase efficiency and dexterity in different areas of war craft.

Understandably Ned was better in some areas and Robert excelled in others.

The war hammer was one of those areas.

Finally after watching Ned barely fend off an enormous brutal attack from Robert, Jon who was watching the both of them while he stood next to Neville on the bench called for a halt and a rest.

Both young men bent over at the waist, painting and sweat pouring down their faces.

"You're getting soft Ned," Robert said between gasps.

Ned shook his head and pushed the dark hair back from his face. "Not everyone is a strong as an ox like you."

"Aye," Robert replied. "And a bloody good thing too otherwise I would win nearly as many fights."

Neville barely repressed an eye roll.

"The problem with your movement Ned is that you are too defensive," Jon said. He rarely if ever got involved in the training of his wards, preferring to leave that to the master at arms. But there were times when he liked to come down from the Eyrie and see their progress.

This was one of those times.

"You're always trying to anticipate Robert's movements," the Lord of the Eyrie continued. "You might try being unpredictable for once."

"What do you mean?" Ned asked.

And then all of a sudden Neville spoke up.

"He means you act as if you're using a sword when you're really using a war hammer. You need to adjust for its height and weight. A hammer doesn't have the reach of the sword and you're going to wear yourself out trying to pretend it does. Robert takes wide sweeps with his hammer. Try taking short sweeps to get in under his guard. Then maybe you won't be on the ropes so much."

All three men had gone completely silent as they stared at Neville. Both Ned and Jon were blinking as if they had never heard speech come out of his mouth before and Robert had his mouth hanging open in shock.

It was then that Neville realized his blunder.

But it was too late now.

"Yes," Jon said in something of a daze. "That could be a way to counter attack. How did you know that my son?"

Neville shrugged. He had never used a weapon in his life, it was just an idea that had popped into his head. "Lucky guess I suppose."

"Bugger that," Robert said. "Jace has a good mind for fighting. I knew he couldn't be down here as often as he is watching us without picking up on something."

Because his new name was Jasper, both Ned and Robert affectionately referred to him as Jace which oddly enough Neville liked. He privately thought that it was a better nickname than Nev which Susie had referred to him as all the time.

"He's three years old Robert," Jon replied. "Most three year olds are not interested in weapons and strategy."

Neville shrugged again. "I suppose I'm not like most three year olds than father. I am going to be the Warden of the East one day aren't I? Perhaps I should start acting like it."

Jon raised an eyebrow at the calm tone and large words that were coming out of a mouth not yet designed to fit their syllables. "Are you saying you would like to learn how to fight son?"

Neville paused and thought about it for a moment. Even though he still had his wand, he would still be expected to fight and lead men into battle. He was going to be the Warden of the East one day and men would look to him to rule over them and lead them. There were going to Vale knights at his command and every day he would look down from his window and see them marching down and up the High road to the Eyrie to see his father and report to him some manner of business. Every evening he would look out his window and see the silver light of the stars alighting on the Mountains of the Moon and feel the cool air against his face. Looking at the stars from his own rooms had always comforted him reminded him that despite the fact that his life had turned upside down and he was now in some world out of the Middle Ages with knights and kings and nobles and ladies and swords that the sky he had always liked to look at when he was in school had not changed.

And one day it would all be his.

He couldn't shirk duty no longer, no matter how much he missed Susan and his children. What would they think of him if they saw him moping around and not doing any good for the world that he lived in.

Susan had been the one to teach him after the war that it was their duty to continue to make the world better after the prejudices of the past.

How would he honor them by sinking into a depression that wanted to claim him?

Neville closed his eyes and felt the weight of being Jasper Arryn sink onto his three year old shoulders and somewhat thirty year old mind.

He couldn't be both of them…but he couldn't forget either.

 _Maybe I don't have to,_ he thought in that moment. _I've spent the last three years that I could think of moping around wishing for my old life even though I am technically dead in the world of magic. At least I know that Susan and the boys and Amelia are still well and will never forget me. I know I'll never forget them. But if Susie were here she would tell me to stop moping, get up off my arse and kick the world where it hurts the most…although I think the phrasing was a little different than that. But the point is still the same._

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to find that Robert Ned and Jon were still looking at him in concern.

"Jasper?" Jon asked. "Are you alright my son?"

Neville took another deep breath and looked skyward. _Forgive me Susie. But I need to stop being a child anymore in my thinking. I have a lot of things to learn. I love you…I always will._

"Yes father," he said opening his eyes again. "I would."

Ω

 _One year later…._

It was happening again…no matter how he might have tried to stop it war had come again…and this time it was affecting his new family.

As Jasper stood in the barracks and watched men in Vale livery race about putting saddles on horses and leading them out of the stables and knights place helms upon their heads and soldiers sheath their swords, he knew it had all been took soon.

He was only four years old and watching his father go off to war for the first time in this life.

In the last year Jon had come to mean a great deal to him. He still struggled calling him father as that title would always belong to Frank Longbottom in his heart. He still struggled calling Lysa mother either as Alice Longbottom had been it for him even though he had never really known them.

But he was able to admit that it was lovely having a father around to ask questions and learn what it meant to truly be a leader and a protector.

For so long it had just been him and gran that he had forgotten what it was like to speak to someone as a mentor.

And now he was leaving for war.

Ned and Robert were already gone. They had come of age in the Eyrie and just soon after Ned's sister Lyanna had disappeared, some thought with the royal prince. Others cited kidnapping which struck a bell with Robert as she was going to be his wife.

King Aerys Targaryen had also murdered Ned's father and brother in a horrific fashion causing the quiet wolf as he was called to have to call the banners of the north south in a quest for revenge against the mad dragon king.

It didn't help that said mad dragon had also gone to the lengths of calling for both Robert, Jon and Ned's heads as traitors.

The Stormlands the North and the Vale were not going to take such behaviour lying down and so war had been declared against the Targaryens.

In the last few months, the realm had gone from calm to chaotic and Jasper was struggling to keep up with it all.

 _I thought I was done with war,_ he thought as he stood beside Lysa and watched his father in full armor stalk towards them.

After saying a few private words to a teary Lysa, Jon bent down so that he might look his son in the eye.

"Farewell Jasper," he said. "You are now the Arryn of the Vale. Should something happen to me you must protect your mother and you will be the new Warden of the East. Be strong. Rule well. I am proud of you."

Jasper took several deep breaths and nodded. He couldn't act like a child even though he didn't feel like one.

He would make Jon proud.

"Yes father."

"Good," Jon replied.

The men of the Vale he had learned were very serious and had learned to hide their emotions to a significant degree.

And so he would have to do the same.

"Tell Ned and Robert to be careful," He called as his father swung into the saddle and took his reins in hand.

Jon gave his first born a small smile. "I will my son. Farewell."

And then he turned to the Vale knights about him and bellowed a single word: "RIDE!"

And then the mounted cavalry were out through the gates of the Eyrie and thundering down the high road with all dispatch.

They raised such a cloud of dust that it made it difficult to see the men in the morning air until they were quite far away.

"Have faith Jasper," Lysa whispered. "Your father will return."

"I know," the small boy with the adult mind said. "I know."

Ω

"I don't like this," Oberyn Martell grumbled.

"Well you don't have to," his sister said turning sideways on her horse to snap at him. "It's not up to you remember?"

"You're going to be a prisoner – "

"It was either that or be remembered as another example of what Lannisters do to someone who gets in their way," Elia spat cutting her brother off with fire in her golden brown eyes. "I was offered a choice. Be a…guest in the Eyrie…or be used as the Lannisters plaything until they decided I had had enough and died."

"I wouldn't have allowed that – "

"You wouldn't have had a choice! It's not like you had an army at your disposal that was waiting right outside the capital to counterattack the Lannisters and their dog the Mountain. It was only due to the cleverness of Ser Jaime and the honor of Lord Eddard and Lord Arryn that I survived. Otherwise my body and that of Aegon and Rhaenys would be wrapped in Lannisters cloaks at the feet of the new king!"

Oberyn bristled but said nothing for a moment. Gods, why was it so cold here?

It was some months later and the war had come mercifully to a halt with the deaths of Rhaegar Targaryen and his mad father, the Lannisters had seized their chance and sacked the capital, resulting in the near deaths of Elia and Aegon and Rhaenys.

Fortunately fate had intervened before they could share the same fate as Elia's husband in the form of Jaime Lannister, Lord Varys, Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark.

Both Jaime and Varys had done their best to smuggle Elia and the prince and princess out of the capital where they had run into Lords Stark and Arryn who had taken them to their camps outside of the city where they were protected until Robert Baratheon could arrive and assume command of the throne.

Of course the new king had demanded the heads of what he called "dragon spawn" but Lord Arryn and Lord Stark had managed to convince the unruly king that beginning his reign with the deaths of children was not the right way to endear himself to the realm.

Lord Arryn had then proposed to the king that Elia and Rhaegar's children be held in the Eyrie to ensure the cooperation of Dorne.

Baratheon had then demanded to know what might happen if they remained alive. They would be seen as a rallying point for all of the Targaryen loyalists and present a threat to the throne that he had taken.

Lord Arryn had then suggested that princess Rhaenys be wed to his heir Jasper Arryn and she would be new Lady of the Vale when they were both of age.

Elia had been astonished. She had just been happy to survive the war along with her children but to know that her daughter would be protected in the Eyrie through marriage was a dream come true. The king would never hurt her then.

It was then that stories of Robert Baratheon's legendary temper had taken hold.

Her brother had told her a little of what had been said as he had wanted to negotiate their return to Dorne.

 _"You wish to wed the dragon spawn to little Jace?" Baratheon roared. "Your only son and heir? Have you lost your mind Jon?"  
_

 _"No!" Arryn roared back. "But if you think I will condone the murder of children when I can do something about it than you have well and truly lost yours! Jasper will wed_ _princess Rhaenys and then that will be an end to your worries about your reign being toppled."_

 _"To wed your hair, little Jace to that dragon spawn is – "  
_

 _"My decision!" Jon roared surprising Oberyn and the new Lord Stark who blinked at his tone. "Jasper is my son and it falls to me who he will wed. And I have chosen!"  
_

 _"And Aegon?" Baratheon had demanded his face turning purple.  
_

 _"The same thing," Arryn replied. "When Lysa gives me a daughter Aegon will wed her. They will not leave the Eyrie!"  
_

 _The new king had replied to his thoughts on this by whirling and stamping out.  
_

 _Oberyn had stared after him bristling with rage. He had nearly lost all control and attempted to kill Baratheon where he stood for demanding the deaths of her and his niece and nephew.  
_

 _Arryn had turned to him then and suddenly looked far older than his years.  
_

 _"Are you certain of this?" Oberyn had asked.  
_

 _"I'm not certain of anything," Arryn had replied running his hand through his paling blonde hair. "But I do know that he is not going to allow the princesses and the prince to return to Dorne to serve as rallying point for his enemies. This is the best I can do."  
_

 _"Very well," Oberyn had replied tightly._

At that moment they were on the High Road heading to the Eyrie which was just visible in the distance.

Ser Jaime who had refused to remain in the keep with the Lannister army and his father after what they had done begged to be allowed to travel with the former princesses and prince to the Eyrie to serve as their protectors.

How Jon had managed to pacify both of her brothers, Oberyn in particular was still a mystery. Doran was satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations and even though she wasn't to return home and her heart was longing for the sight of Sunspear, Elia could not argue with the fact that her son and daughter were alive. And for Rhaenys to marry a future lord paramount was far more than she could have asked for. Aegon would be afforded the same opportunity and perhaps a small holdfast in the Vale. They might not have been a prince and princess anymore, but they would hardly be prisoners.

It was more than Elia could have asked for.

Her brother was still disgruntled about the fact that she could not return home where he felt his could protect them better, but Lord Arryn was hardly barring him from the Vale.

In fact he had made sure to inform Elia when they had left the capital for the Eyrie that her brother would be welcome to visit her whenever he wished for as long as he wished.

And seeing as how Lewyn Martell had somehow survived the Trident but was recovering from his wounds in the capital and would be on his way in a few weeks to serve as a guard for Elia and her children, the Martell family had survived the war relatively intact.

These were all unexpected blessings.

"Are you satisfied with the proceedings?" he asked finally and Elia's hard look softened slightly.

"I am. I am safe and so are Aegon and Rhaenys. No we cannot leave the Vale or the east, but the Eyrie is a near impenetrable fortress so there is only one way in and one way out. If there is an attempt to do any harm to myself or the children we will see it from a mile away."

"I am still rather surprised at Arryn's vehemence in protecting Aegon and Rhaenys," Oberyn mused.

"Lord Arryn is an honorable man," Elia said calmly. "I owe my life to him, Ser Jaime and Lord Stark."

"I suppose," Oberyn said although it appeared as if it pained him to say it.

Elia gave him a small smile as they began their ascent to the Eyrie. "Worry not brother. Things could have turned out far worse. I have survived, Aegon has survived and Rhaenys has survived and they will be protected. Lord Arryn is a man of his word and if he has guaranteed that Rhaenys will wed his son than I believe him."

"I just hope your trust is warranted sister," Oberyn muttered.

Ω

 **So some of you might be confused about the name change, but I thought the name Jasper would be more appropriate given that it was Jon's father's name. I have changed the name in the first chapter as well. Secondly, as you know the deaths of Elia and her children in the book are the only deaths that to me were senseless. Seeing as how the Martells are my favorite family in Westeros, I will be doing my utmost to ensure that Elia and Aegon and Rhaenys survive in almost every story that I write. Thirdly, I decided that the main pairing will be Neville/Rhaenys. It is a pairing I have not done yet and seeing as how I really like Neville, I think the idea of this pairing would be really interesting. Aegon and Rhaenys are going to be hostages in the Eyrie to ensure the cooperation of Dorne which will allow Neville and Rhaenys plenty of time to get to know one another which will lead to some interesting adventures. Also to the question that some of you were asking about whether or not Lysa slept with Petyr before her wedding to Jon and was forced to drink moon tea when it was discovered that she was pregnant...that has not happened...yet. That storyline will come into play a little further down the line. Anyway, that's all for now. Don't forget to review and enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jasper's second indication that his life was about to irrevocably change for the second time happened when Nestor Royce, the steward his father appointed to keep charge of the Vale appeared in the godswood of the Eyrie nearly a year after his father had left to fight a war.

Over the past several months, the four year old had been spending a lot of time in the godswood thinking. He had always felt the most at peace when he was surrounded by nature and the only place with plants in the entire area of the Giant's Lance was the godswood in the center of the slim white towers nestled atop that enormous outcropping of rock. There were just grasses and plain white flowers in the entire area and no weirwood trees but it was peaceful all the same.

What did disappoint Jace was the nonexistence of those pure white trees with their blood red leaves as he had only seen them in pictures in the library of the Eyrie. He had never seen a tree before with those types of features and to have one in the godswood or any trees at all for that matter was something that he craved.

Another thing that had come to Jace's attention in the months that his father had been away was the fact that his mother was a devout follower of the Seven.

In his first life as Neville Longbottom, he hadn't believed in any sort of religion as in a way magic was the god that was practiced. Gran had never believed in any sort of deity and by extension, neither had Neville. He had been terrified of her enough as it was so he had spent time either avoiding her or doing everything in his power to ensure that he didn't mess up.

So as one might imagine, Jace's introduction to the Seven was rather mixed. Given the fact that he had died in order to come to this world, he sort of bought the existence of the Stranger.

However, he wasn't sure how he felt about such entities as the Crone or the Mother or the Smith for that matter. He understood intelligence and creativity quite well but he wasn't certain that they came from a god.

He was also rather uncomfortable with the idea of a god called the Father sitting in judgement of him when he died and having the entire say over whether or not he was sent on to the afterlife or eternal punishment.

 _The rules have changed Nev,_ he would sometimes hear in his head in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Susan's. _You need to figure out how you fit into them._

It was something she had often said when they were in the DA in their final year of school and Hogwarts rules didn't apply anymore when it came to survival. During that time Neville had learned that sometimes rules did have to be bent in order to guarantee the safety of himself and his classmates. Cursing a teacher would have been unthinkable to him had Dumbledore still been in the school but since the Carrows came and took over their Defense lessons, torturing the half-bloods and Muggleborns and blood traitors, there came a time when he couldn't just pretend it wasn't happening any longer.

Pragmatism had its place in the world and it was when it was combined with idealism that a world ideology emerged that Neville was used to.

As Jasper, he had had to employ said ideology quite a lot in his dealings with his mother since his father had gone to war.

Jace had taken great pains to ensure that his wand in his collapsible form remained on a string around his neck at all times as he knew as long as it was connected to him than he would always be able to practice magic and no one would question the notion of a child wearing a wooden necklace about his throat. But just to ensure that no attention was brought to him, Jace would often tuck it out of sight underneath his shirt. Other than that he never took it off.

Having his magic with him was a great comfort. On one hand it made him feel as if he still retained some part of Neville Longbottom, a name which would never again be spoken other than by him. On the other hand, it was an anchor for his new life as Jasper Arryn.

He would admit it…this new world and land of Westeros was scary.

As a child he had been a timid soul, gifted at charms and herbology and runes and never more comfortable than when he was in his green house. His shyness had lifted with age but he had retained a quiet and thoughtful nature, something that had been noticed by his father, Ned, Robert and several of the higher ranking officials in his father's service.

Jasper was no fool, he knew what would be expected of him when he was older and the Defender of the Vale.

What a title that was. As it wasn't enough pressure to be the heir to a place like the Eyrie and the entire east when he became older, he was to receive a label that would slot him into a place that had been held by his ancestors for centuries.

It was a legacy that went far beyond that of House Longbottom.

As it was, he had spent a good deal of time reading all about his lineage and that of Artys Arryn, the Falcon Knight.

Merlin that was a heavy title as well.

Jasper had spent a good deal of time in the godswood wondering about the future and whether or not he would be able to live up to the legacy that he was expected to contribute to.

What was a comfort in fact was his memories of being Neville Longbottom. He had effectively taken command of the DA when Harry and Hermione and Ron were on the run and he had led the rest of his classmates and the younger years in defying the Carrows and Professor Snape for that matter.

Susan the fiery red head that she was had refused to run from a fight and had issued her own share of Unforgivables on Slytherins who had attempted to do harm to the rest of the houses that had come to the DA for fear of Voldemort.

As much as it had been terrible time of fear for all those involved, it had also been a time of trust and camaraderie between those members of the DA who had stood together and kept Hogwarts safe from Voldemort's army.

It was in those days that he truly learned who his friends and who his enemies were.

Here, the only people that Jasper really trusted were away fighting a war. His mother had been rather, well…strange in his father's absence and had been spending a lot of time locked in her chambers not speaking to anyone.

Ah well, he hoped with the return of father it might coax her out.

In the meantime however, the news from the capital had been good. His father had only had time to write two letters to them since the war had ended and was now returning. One had been for Royce and one had been for his mother.

Jasper had stolen the message from the raven before Maester Coleman had gotten to it and he had never been able to see it.

He didn't like Coleman. He was a nervous little man with two much neck and too little hair. That was simply the best way to describe him. He had beady little eyes that darted about back and forth as if he had something to hide at any given moment. His hair was brown and his face was thin with prominent cheek bones protruding somewhat sickeningly from his skin.

The moment he had seen him, Jasper knew he was not to be trusted.

And so that was why he had stolen the letters the moment they had arrived via the raven.

It was a good thing that he did as the contents of that letter were about to change his life forever.

It detailed the outcome of the war and the many battles that were fought including the battle of the bells and the most important one that happened at the Trident or as it was now being called, the Ruby Ford as it was the place where Rhaegar Targaryen had died and the tide of the rebellion had turned in favor of the rebels.

Truthfully, Jasper wasn't sure what to think of the crown prince's death. He knew that said prince had kidnapped Ned's sister who was also Robert's betrothed and so he was glad that justice had been done in that area but at the same time, he was old enough and mature enough mentally to know that that wasn't all of it.

He also knew that Rhaegar Targaryen had had a wife and two children before he had abducted Lyanna Stark and it was them that he was really thinking about for two different reasons.

As a married man…or a previously married mas as it were, Jasper recognized how important marriage was and the idea of leaving Susan for someone else was unthinkable and abhorrent to him. So it really boggled his mind that Rhaegar Targaryen had done the very thing that Jasper himself would never do.  
He was full of questions. Why had he done it? How had he done it? And more importantly, what was going to be the fall out of the prince's actions?

The letter he received was an answer to all of his questions…although he was surprised to see that a part of it concerned him.

At the moment he had currently finished reading the one for his mother and needless to say, he was more than a little surprised.

 _Dearest Lysa_

 _It is with deep relief that I write to inform you that this senseless war is done. I will be riding for the Vale with all dispatch to see you and our son again. Justice has been dealt and the mad king and his son are dead. As to the matter of his widow and children, this is a score I have decided to settle myself. By the grace of all the gods old and new, Elia Martell and her children were smuggled out of the capital and into the hands of myself and that of Eddard where they were held in our protection until Robert could come to the capital to assume command of the throne. It is to my regret that Robert demanded their heads upon hearing of their survival, however both Eddard and I were able to talk him down from this endeavor. The only way to ensure that Robert's reign remains secure and that the lives of the princess and her children were preserved however was to ensure that they remain as hostages in the Eyrie. I have an agreement with both Robert and Dorne that Princess Rhaenys though she is a princess no longer will wed Jasper when both come of age and she will be the new lady of the Vale. Should the gods grant us a daughter, Aegon will wed her as well. The Martells were only in agreement of this plan if a contingent of Martell guards along with Princess Elia's brother, the Prince Oberyn and Uncle Prince Lewyn Martell were to accompany them. I write to inform you that we will be playing the hosts to the last Targaryens in Westeros that remain free and urge you to accept this new state of affairs. I will explain more to you upon my return._

 _Be well._

 _Jon Arryn,_

 _Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East._

To say that Jasper was stunned would be a bit of an understatement.

The concept of arranged marriage was not new to him. His grandmother had had an arranged marriage and so had many of the other pureblood students in his year. Most of them had been Slytherins granted, but at the same time it hadn't been an unusual thing.

Had his parents not been in a comatose state, Jasper was certain his own marriage as Neville Longbottom would have been arranged.

It just seemed so soon was all.

He had already been married once and produced four children from that marriage…was he really ready to do it again.

The one comfort in the letter was that he would at least get to know his future wife and have years with her so that they might become friends before the vows were said.

Her brother would also be in the Eyrie as well and he was only nine months younger than his sister which lifted Jasper's hopes that he might have a friend.

It was a little lonely being the only child in the Eyrie and even though he had the mind of a thirty year old and everyone else thought him to be highly intelligent since he had let some of it show in the last year, it didn't mean that he didn't want someone his own age to talk to.

Perhaps Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen would be it.

He was both a little nervous and excited to meet them now.

After Jasper had replaced both of the letters and returned to the godswood to think, he was bombarded by another thought.

How would the new king take news of his marrying the daughter of his sworn enemy?

Jasper also wondered how it would be for the next few years living with the former princesses and prince in the Eyrie.

Though he was lonely and wanted to make new friends, he was also wary of new people.

There had been no princes in his life as Neville Longbottom but Draco Malfoy had often been referred to as the Slytherin Prince and had expected everyone to treat him as such.

Jasper still couldn't think about what had happened during first year when the blonde ponce had stolen his remembrall after he had flown straight into the wall of the school and broken his wrist without bristling.

Draco Malfoy was a self-righteous prick before the war and he was a self-righteous prick after it. However the only change was that he was a bit of a quieter prick and worked in some unknown department of the Ministry that Neville had never heard of.

And that had been the end of that.

He didn't want Princess Rhaenys or Prince Aegon to be a Draco Malfoy or Pansy Parkinson come again.

Merlin he couldn't imagine how he might live with a Pansy Parkinson for a wife. The mere thought alone made Jasper want to cringe.

In the back of his mind he doubted it would happen because the princess was the same age as he was and her brother was of a similar age. Aegon had been born nine months following his sister and wasn't even a year younger. They would not have very many memories about their time in the red keep no doubt and given what he had heard of what the Lannisters had attempted to do to the capital, they would have nothing in common with Draco Malfoy or old Pug Faced Parkinson.

He hoped.

Jasper swung his legs against the bench where he was sitting and looked out over the godswood with a sigh.

"This place needs some trees," he muttered to himself. "Especially some weirwood trees. It can't be a godswood without them. I need to get some seeds and look into ways to deepen the soil. The ground is too rocky for growth. I also need to move some rocks so I can plant the trees."

"Well perhaps that will be a project for another time Lord Jasper."

The little boy with the old mind looked up in surprise to see his father's steward Nestor Royce standing before him with an odd little smile on his face. Over the past few years since his birth, everyone had become used to Jasper's serious speech and how he talked more like an adult than he did a child. He was also more interested in adult things like sword fighting and horse riding and politics and religion than he was in simply running and playing.

After a few months his father and the servants had simply accepted it.

His mother however…well it was going to take a little more convincing that he still didn't need to be breast fed.

Jasper didn't know why she was so possessive of him but it was giving him the creeps and he wished she would just leave him alone at times.

In a way he felt sorry for her. She was away from the family she had grown up with and the Eyrie could be a lonely place if you didn't know anyone and it had only been her and his father for the first year that they had been married. It was also a secluded place and Jasper believed that while it was beautiful, someone not used to the environment would succumb to the isolation and the loneliness.

Thankfully he had been born for a second time here and was mature enough mentally to know how to handle it.

But it didn't mean that he wasn't lonely at times.

So this news that Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon and their mother were coming to live in the Eyrie was good news.

Jasper smiled slightly when he saw Royce standing before him. Unlike Coleman Royce was a kind man who always made time for him if he had a question about something in the keep or the history of the Eyrie.

Even though the Royce's had been the first kings of the Vale and the mountains centuries earlier there was little bad blood between the families which Jasper was certain there still was between the Mountain Clans of the Vale and the Arryns.

"The guards atop the towers have spotted your father's banners Lord Jasper," Royce went on. "He will be here in an hour or so and his company is far larger than when he left."

Jasper's eyes widened slightly. He had a feeling that his father would be traveling quickly when he had read the words: _with all despatch,_ in the letter but he didn't know they would be there this soon.

 _Maybe the raven carrying this letter was injured on the way here,_ he mused thoughtfully to himself. _It did seem a bit out of sorts when I took the letter from it. One of its wings was crooked._

Nestor glanced down at the letter that was clutched in the small boys hand and gave him a secretive smile.

"Now Lord Jasper, why don't I take this letter back to the raven from which it came? You know how Coleman is when his birds have been handled without his consent."

Jasper both wanted to laugh and grimace. The last time someone had touched one of his ravens, the heir to the Vale had thought that the maester would tear out his already thinning hair. The cords had stood out in his thick neck which was oddly disproportionate to the rest of his body and when he had come down from his bluster he appeared to deflate like a frog being stepped on.

Not a pleasant metaphor.

Instead, Jasper handed over the two letters he had snatched and smirked back at Nestor. "I think that's a good idea."

"Hmm."

The two of them walked back to the keep from the godswood and parted ways once they reached the High Hall, Nestor heading for the tower in which the ravens were housed at the very top.

Jasper meanwhile glanced down at his less than presentable clothes and decided it might do to look somewhat appropriate when his father and the girl who was his betrothed arrived.

Good lord…

He hurried off to his rooms, more glad than ever that his father had convinced his mother to let him have his own chambers before he had gone off to war.

The chambers themselves were fashioned in the same manner that the High Hall was, all white marble with blue veins interspersed throughout the walls. The bed itself was large and old and Jace had a feeling it had once belong to Elbert Arryn, his father's nephew and his cousin. He had felt a little odd sleeping there at first but after a few weeks, he had decided that he rather liked it. Even though he was an adult in mind only, the old bits of him that were still Neville saw it as a quiet place to gather his thoughts when they were being scattered.

As soon as he was inside, he shut the door and hurried across to the dressers at the back of the room. A few months ago, his mother had insisted that she help dress him but whenever she had tried, Jasper had simply his behind his door and used magic to clothe himself which had annoyed her to no end.

Once he was dressed using the same method, Jasper glanced down at his tunic and breeches that were a deep blue with the falcon of the Arryns emblazoned in silver stitching across the breast. It was an elegant but simple adornment for which he was grateful. The last thing he wanted was to have a ruddy great silver falcon across his chest.

He strode quickly over to the mirror and glanced into the service before doing his best to pat his hair down.

He could never find the brush in this place and he absolutely refused to let someone do it for him.

He wasn't a child after all.

Well…he was but…not where it mattered.

After doing his best to make sure that his hair was straight and somewhat decent, Jasper sat down on his bed and did his best to pull on his boots and tuck the ends of his breeches into them.

"Merlin I miss the days when all I had to do was throw on my Gryffindor robes," he muttered to himself. "And Unspeakable robes were even easier. At least I can still dress myself with magic or else I would go bloody insane."

Once his boots were on and he had ensured the necklace where his wand was attached was hidden out of sight beneath his collar, Jasper heard a knock on the door.

"My lord?" called the voice of Nestor. "Your father's banners are approaching."

 _Merlin, so soon?!_

"I'm coming Nestor," Jace called before he hopped down from the bed and hurried to the door, ensuring that he had pulled on a cloak to guard against the wind.

He followed his father's steward down the High Hall and barely noticed the mountains of the moon in the distance through the windows he passed.

There were windows everywhere in the Eyrie and Jace had a funny feeling that this place liked to show off just how high it was and the view it had and that it was impenetrable no matter where one went when they were inside of it.

 _I wonder what our guests will think of it,_ he thought to himself as he hurried after Nestor.

The steward paused to look out one of the window and down far below him. "They appeared to have reached the Bloody Gate now my lord, we still have some time."

"More than some time Nestor," Jace replied. "The stairs alone will take almost half an hour to climb."

"Indeed my lord."

The Bloody Gate was one aspect of the Arryn's history that Jasper didn't like to think about too much as it made him cringe.

Even though there was a gate similar to it to enter the stairs to the Eyrie itself, it was the history of the gate and how so many had died there that made Jace grimace.

During the Age of Heroes, a dozen armies had smashed themselves to bits against the gate trying to take the Eyrie earning the place its rather gruesome name.

It was also one of the reasons despite the height of the Eyrie and the inhospitable environments that the Vale was a near impenetrable fortress.  
The only reason that Visenya Targaryen had been able to bypass the natural protections altogether had to do with her dragon Vhagar.

When Sharra Arryn had amassed her armies at the gate as she was ruling the Eyrie in her son Ronnel's name, Visenya had simply flown on her dragon Vhagar up to the courtyard of the Eyrie to obtain the surrender of House Arryn.

There were no natural protections against a dragon.

He didn't even want to think about Harrenhal and how the foolish lord and all his sons had roasted alive within its walls from dragon flame.

"Quickly Lord Jasper," Nestor called back to him and Jace realized he had paused at one of the windows as he had rehashed a history lesson.

He blinked and hurried down the stairs after the steward while Royce barked some short sharp commands to the guards to follow them.

It did feel somewhat odd to have a dozen guards all dressed in Vale colors following behind him as if he was his father but Jasper merely shrugged and hurried as fast as his short legs could carry him after Nestor.

Not for the first time did he curse being reborn and having to go through all the tedious things like facial hair and puberty and small arms and legs all over again.

That had been one of the worst times of his life as Neville and now he would have to go through it again as Jasper.

Ah well…

When they finally reached the courtyard of the Eyrie, Jace saw with surprise that all the guard currently residing in the keep was already lined up neatly in two long rows facing the gates to greet Lord Jon Arryn when he and his party rode through the gates into the courtyard.

Jasper could admit to being a little nervous as he stood beside Nestor at the back of the lines where they wouldn't be seen. He knew a small party of Martell guards would be coming as well to assist in guarding Princesses Elia and Rhaenys as well as Prince Aegon and he had a feeling that this display of Valemen was to make some sort of show to their Martell guests that they meant business.

It was all power politics again, something he would need to learn as he grew older, Merlin help him.

There was the sound of shouts and galloping hooves as the party approached and Jasper clenched his hands behind his back in an effort to retain some semblance of calm. He was both excited that his father was back and nervous upon meeting the Martells but he had to make sure that neither of those things showed.

He was also frustrated because he was still so short that he couldn't see a damned thing. If he actually had the mind of a child he might consent to being picked up but that seemed an appalling notion now.

He wondered where his mother was in that moment and then decided that it didn't matter. She had been ill a lot lately and he knew it was better not to bother her. If he did, he would have to stay in her room for hours until he could find somewhat of escape. It might have sounded bad but Jace was sort of glad that she wasn't there. He instinctively clenched his hands tighter behind his back, a constant reminder of when she tried to hold his hand while he did anything. He tightened his hands together glad she wasn't here to try and do so now.

The thought of walking to meet his father and betrothed with his mother holding his hand made Jace feel physically ill.

It may have been socially acceptable given that he wasn't quite five years old but to his thirty year old mental sensibilities, it was downright taboo to him.

Finally they clattered into the courtyard and Jace breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of his father's pale blonde hair that was beginning to grey.

Instantly the Valemen stood to attention and smoothly formed two long lines facing each other so that Nestor, Lysa and Jace could be seen.

Jace just had time see his father clatter through the gates atop his horse, long hair blowing in the wind and started to smile slightly.

He looked older than the boy remembered but war did have a way of wearing on a man and his eyes narrowed in concern for a moment.

There was only so much time to focus on his father however as there was a small wheelhouse that clattered in behind him which was done in the Martell colors drew his attention right away and he swallowed hard, knowing the princesses and the prince were no doubt riding in there.

Just behind the wheelhouse came a man that Jace did not recognize. He had dark hair and olive skin and confidence seemed to ooze from every pore in his skin. He was dressed in deep mustard yellow with intricate suns embroidered into the cloth and Jace realized right away that this was Oberyn Martell, some called the Red Viper.

He didn't know much about him, but he had a feeling if he wanted to impress this man he would have his work cut out for him.

The fact that he would be staying with his sister gave rise to the belief that he did not trust the Arryns.

What followed behind the prince were a collection of Martell and Vale soldiers who all clattered into the courtyard until the place was filled with people.

Beside the wheelhouse rode a young man who didn't look much older than seven and ten years of age wearing golden armor and a long white cloak that identified him as a member of the Kingsguard. This must have been Ser Jaime.

Still the two long lines of Vale soldiers who transferred into this smooth shape to greet the Warden of the East did not move until Jon Arryn had appeared at the end of the long line opposite Jace, his mother and the steward.

"My lord!" Nestor Royce called out striding down the long hallway or sorts that the Valemen had created to greet Jon. "We thank the gods for your safe return. It is good to see you again."

Jon Arryn dismounted from his horse and grasped the forearms of his steward before giving him a grim smile. "It is good to be back Nestor. I trust there no problems have arisen since I have been gone."

"None that could not be signed away with the flourish of a quill my lord," Nestor replied and Jon gave him a grim smile. "Good."

It was then that the aging lord noticed that Prince Oberyn had dismounted from his own horse and had given some short sharp commands to the Martell guard who had accompanied them and were now standing off to their side with their hands folded behind their back awaiting further instructions.

"Nestor," Jace heard his father call. "May I present Prince Oberyn Martell? He will be staying with the Princesses Elia and Rhaenys and prince Aegon during their time in the Eyrie."

"Prince Oberyn," Nestor said bowing to the man who looked him over with an easy smirk before turning his gaze back to the fortress.

Jace couldn't read his expression but it seemed he was both impressed and displeased with the notion of being there.

It was understandable, the Eyrie was no doubt far more different than Dorne and far colder for one thing too.

"Never been to the Eyrie before," he said in that low smooth voice of his that Jace was certain had charmed many a woman in his time, and perhaps some men for that matter. "I will say this though, it is _impenetrable._ "

He said the word with a certain zeal that Jace wasn't sure had more to do with his displeasure at being there or at the notion that his sister and her children would never leave.

That was something he knew _he_ wouldn't be happy about and he had never had a sister before.

Apparently his father had noticed the zeal too and the way that Nestor's eyes had narrowed because he moved smoothly to diffuse the situation before some social blunder was committed, Merlin forbid.

Damage control and diffusing a situation was one thing that Jon Arryn was good at and Jace imagined as he stood at the back of the rows of soldiers beside his mother that those skills had been put to good use when he had been convincing Robert not to kill the princesses and the prince.

 _Merlin I don't think I would have wanted to be there for that exchange. Robert has an explosive temper. It's probably ten times worse than Ron's._

He tuned back into the situation when he saw his father turn towards the door of the wheelhouse and take hold of the handle, opening it so that its inhabitants could look out. "Princess Elia…welcome to the Eyrie."

Jace had to crane his neck slightly to see the figure stepping from the wheelhouse and then blinked when the princess that his father had helped to save emerged.

She was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Her skin was golden and perfectly kissed by the sun and her long ebony hair fell in waves down her back. She had the curves of a goddess and a smile to match. Even the dress she was wearing that was in Martell colors and with long sleeves to protect against the elements did little to hide the shape of her body, something Jace was certain that every man in the courtyard was aware of.

But it was her eyes that really struck Jace as they were large and golden brown like two golden dragons. Her eyes looked around the courtyard warily but then she smiled upon see Jon Arryn.

"Thank you my lord," she said and Jace could tell she was somewhat tired as she stepped from the wheelhouse and he could imagine it had been a long and stressful journey.

"Nestor where is my son?" Jace heard Jon ask the steward and realized that the time for staying back had passed.

Though he despised having to constantly be on his guard and perfectly ease always with his emotions in check as it was never something he had had to do as Neville, he had always been a quiet boy who was introspective about many things.

Now he would need to put some of that to work.

"Here father," he called out as loud as he could because his voice didn't carry very far which was another frustrating thing about being a child. Commanding respect was difficult.

He walked swiftly down the long line of Vale soldiers towards his father at the other end where Jon's eyes spied him and he smiled to see the aging lord's blue eyes light up.

The moment the boy had passed through the column of soldiers he saw the Lord of the Vale and gave him a smile.

Jon seemed to sag just a bit with relief before he knelt down in front of his son. "It is good to see you again Jace."

"And you father," Jasper said, his tone even and his hands clasped behind his back, being serious by even his standards. "I'm glad you've returned safely."

Jon's smile widened and became one of pride making Jace glow slightly. Even though Jon was his second father he hadn't realized how much he craved attention until he was given it.

"I am glad I am back too my son," he said. "Come, there is someone I would like for you to meet."

The words had no sooner left his mouth when Jace walked around his father and stood before Princess Elia and her brother who was standing next to her. Whilst Elia bore a smile, Oberyn was looking at Jace appraisingly as if assessing his worth.

That was a little annoying so Jace instead chose to focus on the princess who was looking at him gently.

"My lady," he said and surprised everyone in the courtyard by sweeping into a bow that looked somewhat amusing for someone of his age but impressive as well. "Welcome to the Eyrie and the Vale."

Elia's smile grew as she looked at him. "Thank you Lord Jasper. We are glad to be here. Now I have someone to introduce as well."

She took a half step back to the carriage and reached a hand inside for someone else to take. Jace inclined his head to Prince Oberyn who gave him a smirking smile back which Jace wasn't sure he liked before turning his head towards the interior of the wheelhouse.

A small hand from back in the shadow had taken hold of Princess Elia's and a moment later a small head peeked out of the darkness.

 _It seems Princess Rhaenys is the spitting image of her mother._

The girl didn't look much younger than he was but her skin like her mother's was golden and she had black hair like her as well. The only parts of her that spoke to her Valyrian heritage were her violet eyes that were deep and somewhat enchanting to look at. She was a dressed in a long sleeved gown like her mother's in the same Dornish colors of yellow and burnt orange and it offset her face quite well.

It was easy to see that she would be just as beautiful as her mother when she grew older if not more so.

Rhaenys looked around warily as she stepped down the stairs of the wheelhouse and Jace could practically feel the eyes of everyone in the courtyard on the two of them in that moment.

Despite the fact that he was prepared for it, he still felt nervous.

The violet eyes swept the clearing and came back to him and Jace knew it was time.

He stepped forward feeling his father's eyes on him and gave her a deep bow like he had done for her mother. "Princess Rhaenys, welcome to the Eyrie."

"I'm not a princess anymore," the little girl said in a small voice and Jace could plainly see the sadness in her violet eyes and felt the tension of the moment fade somewhat.

He couldn't imagine what she had gone through, with her father dying and her home being destroyed and people trying to kill her.

The tension in the courtyard seemed to have gone up somewhat at the princess's words at least to everyone else but Jace wasn't intimidated. "Maybe not to the rest of the realm my lady…but to the Eyrie you will be."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace could see his father close his eyes briefly and it appeared as if he were exhaling a sigh of relief.

Elia's smile which had tightened at her daughter's words had relaxed somewhat and Oberyn had arched one of his eyebrows in surprise at the young lord's words.  
Jace held out a hand and Rhaenys slowly let go of her mother's to take it and walk carefully down the last few steps until she was on the ground in front of him.

The moment she had done so however, a gust of wind blew causing her to shiver and Jace frowned. "Are you cold my lady?"

She nodded slightly and the small blonde paused only a moment before clasping the cloak he was wearing from his neck and putting it somewhat awkwardly around her shoulders before fastening it.

He was used to the cold wind that often blew through the mountains but she wasn't and not for the first time did he curse his short arms for making this look less than elegant.

However when he glanced up at his father and saw the man staring somewhat at the ground with a smile on his face, Jace knew he had done the right thing.

He offered his arm to Rhaenys like he had been taught to do when there was a lady around and she looked at her mother as if checking to make sure that it was alright. When Elia nodded and gave her a smile she took his arm and Jace inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

 _That wasn't as nearly awkward as I thought._

The next passenger to descend from the wheelhouse was a far different traveler than Princess Rhaenys for he had a large smile on his face as he looked about the courtyard.

To put it mildly, Prince Aegon was as different from his sister in looks as night was from day. If she was the quiet calm night than he was the bright sunny day that came after it. He was only nine months younger than her putting them both at the same age but the only thing they shared in common was their violet eyes. Aegon though not possessing of the silver locks that his father had had, did have golden blonde hair much like Jace's own which made his sister the silver and him the gold.

Upon seeing the former prince's smile when he got out of the wheelhouse without the help of his mother, Jasper was instantly put at ease.

"Hello!" the small boy said with a smile that lit up his whole face as he hopped down the steps of the wheelhouse and landed in front of Jace. "I'm Aegon."

The heir to the Vale grinned back at him. "I'm Jasper, but you can call me Jace. All my friends do."

Aegon nodded eagerly before looking around the courtyard. "Is this where we're going to live? It's _huge!_ I've always wanted to live high up off the ground. It'll be like living in a bird's nest!"

"That's how I think of it," Jace said, relief coming for him that his meeting with Aegon hadn't been as stiff as it had been with Rhaenys.

 _I'll need to see if I can get her to open up a bit,_ he thought to himself before looking back at Aegon. "Do you want to see more of it?"

"Yes please," the other blonde said cheerfully. "When mother told me we were going to be living in the Eyrie she said it was like a castle in the sky. She was right!"

"Well come on then," Jace said before turning to his father, his adult personality reminding him to remember his manners. "Is it alright if I show them the Eyrie father?"

Jon Arryn who was having a hard time keeping the smile from his face, nodded. "Of course my son, it would be unseemly if we didn't."

The three children hurried off together, Aegon chattering a mile a minute and Jace doing his best to keep up with Rhaenys a silent passenger on his arm while the adults watched them go in various stages of amusement, all the tension having deflated.

Oberyn looked as if he were trying not to laugh and Elia looked the happiest Jon had ever seen her since their narrow escape from the Red Keep.

"Well that went well," Nestor Royce muttered under his breath.

"Indeed," Jon said with relief. "It seemed I was worried for nothing.

He turned to princess Elia and her brother. "Perhaps we should emulate the children my lady. May I show you around?"

Elia smiled at him and dug her elbow into Oberyn's ribs when it looked like he was about say something questionable. "Of course my lord. I would love to see the Eyrie."

As Jon moved off to show the new guests their home he couldn't help but shoot up a silent prayer of thankfulness for his son who seemed to have inherited his ability to diffuse the situation and for Aegon for that matter for having made things easier.

The small boy hadn't stopped chattering the entire journey about how eager he was the see the Eyrie and live in a castle in the sky.

Jon had asked him once if he was going to miss King's Landing and the boy had vehemently shook his head, proclaiming that the city was back because in his words: "it stinks."

Jon had had a feeling right away that he and Jace were going to get along famously. He had been able to tell that his son was lonely and needed friends and not for the first time did he hope that Lysa would become with child again and give Jace a brother or sister. He wanted to fill the entire keep with children but now that Rhaenys and Aegon were there, perhaps the place wouldn't be quite so gloomy anymore.

 _Perhaps the presence of those three will all be cause enough for us to smile._

Ω

 **So seeing as how we have never really had the chance to know what Aegon would have been like as he died as a baby in the capital, I had to make his personality up. Someone commented earlier that they were glad that a chapter had been devoted to Neville as a child in the Vale and I have to tell all of you that there will be a few chapter dedicated exclusively to the adventures of Jasper, Rhaenys and Aegon as they grow older. As some of you might guess Aegon and Jasper are going to be the best of friends as they grow up and this will have interesting connotations about the war of the five kings seeing as how Jasper is now Ned's nephew by marriage. We also know that Jon and Lysa never had any daughters which is not going to change by the way in this story so someone else will need to take the place of the nonexistent offspring to be Aegon's bride when the three of them are older. Don't worry, Rhaenys will come out of her shell as time goes on and some interesting shenanigans will happen preceding that. I had to make Aegon only nine months younger than his sister because I want him and Jasper to be somewhat around the same age so it will be easier for them to relate to each other. Writing the three of them growing up is going to be a lot of fun as Jasper will be reminded of what it is like to be a child again and somehow balance being an adult as well as his mind is three decades old. The reason for Lysa appearing not to greet their guests will be explained in greater detail later, but for right now just know that she is ill. Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you liked the chapter and don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next week or so passed in a sort of pattern for Jasper.

Once their Martell and Targaryen guests had settled in, thus commenced their display of the Eyrie.

Naturally Aegon wanted to see everything and Jasper was only too happy to show his new friend around. The former prince seemed to have a zest for life that was not dimmed at all from his time in the capital. He was always ready with a laugh and a smile causing Jace to break his own serious countenance and grin along with him.

To Jasper's surprise and delight, both Rhaenys and Aegon were put in the same tower he was with their mother and uncle just down the hall.

Rhaenys had been a silent occupant of the Eyrie since the day she had arrived which worried Jasper slightly. He was only slightly older than she was physically but his brain was far older and it felt strange to know that in a little over a decade he would be marrying this girl. Mentally he was old enough to be her father and such thoughts made him squirm as if he were doing something wrong.

To the rest of the world however he was just five year old Jasper Arryn, the heir to the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale and future Warden of the East. For the moment he just tried not to think about Princess Rhaenys being his wife when they were older.

Every time that word entered his mind he would wince and have to remind himself that even though he had the mind of a thirty year old, he was still a child in body.

It was an odd parallel between Jasper and Neville that he would have to reconcile. In the meantime he didn't have to worry about marriage for over a decade yet. That was relieving.  
In the meantime, all he had to do was think about running around the Eyrie with Aegon, Rhaenys a silent passenger following them.

Jace would be lying if he said he wasn't a little worried about her. She rarely spoke and only talked when spoken to. The only people she talked to without them having to say something to her first were Aegon and her mother.

There were times when she said whispered words to Jace as well but those were few and far between. In fact he could probably count their occurrences on one hand. There were even times when Aegon spoke for his sister if the three of them were together.

Something Jace had noticed however is that if Rhaenys was ever by herself, well as by herself as one could be when she was followed by a contingent of Martell guards, she could always be found in the godswood. Even though there were no trees and only the tall grasses and white flowers grew in the rocky soil, Rhaenys seemed to enjoy it. She could often be found swinging her feet back and forth on one of the benches that Jace liked to sit on with an odd small look on her face, that was half between musing and half between wondering.

It was times like this that Jace wondered what she was thinking. As an Unspeakable he had had to have an understanding of Legilimency but he had made a solemn promise to himself not to use it on any human being.

That didn't mean that there weren't times when he didn't wonder however.

Besides Rhaenys some of the guests of the Eyrie he was most curious about were Prince Oberyn and Jaime Lannister.

The latter was someone that Jace had never expected to see in the Eyrie.

From the letter that he had sent to his steward Nestor Royce while they were still on the road to the Vale, Jace had detected a serious undertone of dislike towards the lions for what they had attempted to do in the capital.

He couldn't say he blamed him. Tywin Lannister had forever dishonored the name of Lannister by what he had attempted to do. The lions would have a reputation for the rest of their lives as being liars, murderers and rapists.  
It made Jace angry because a house that embodied the symbol of a lion, the very same symbol that Gryffindor was known for, had disgraced the very idea of what it meant to _be_ a lion.

Well…maybe not all of them.

Jaime Lannister he remembered from his father's letter had helped to smuggle princess Elia and her children into the hands of his father and Ned where they were protected until Lord Arryn could arrange for their departure from the capital.

Perhaps not all of the lions were bad after all.

Something else that proved interesting was the fact that Jace would often see the young knight following Elia and her brother around dutifully. There were these looks he would give her that to a five year old might seem odd, but to his thirty year old sensibilities he recognized the look right away.

Ser Jaime was in love with the princess.

It surprised Jace at first but after a while he began to feel pleased with this change of events. Princess Elia was a woman with a constant smile on her face but there were times when Jace would often see her with a flash of sorrow in her eyes. She deserved to be happy.

She was also very kind to him so he went out of his way to make her stay in the Eyrie more comfortable.

After all, she was going to be his mother in law one day, why shouldn't he try and develop a good relationship with her now?

The one person that he didn't seem to have as good a relationship with was Oberyn Martell. That wasn't to say that it was bad…it was just rather nonexistent at this point in time. Oberyn didn't say much to Jace and Jace didn't say much to him.

Instead, the Dornish prince seemed content to watch the proceedings of the Eyrie with a smug little smile on his face as if this was all just so quaint.

And that both annoyed and amused Jace because if there was one thing he hated, it was not being taken seriously. He had spent almost all of his childhood not being taken seriously and had come through a war in which he had played a key part in destroying one of Riddle's horcruxes while Harry was keeping up his necessary cover of death. He had led Dumbledore's army in that horrific brutal year while Death Eaters ruled the school. So what gave this stuck up prick the right to judge him and his home as if they were something cute to be patted on the head.

The amusing part was the fact that Oberyn was clearly a shallow character when it came to many things, not including his family. He was clearly annoyed that he couldn't bring his sister and her children home to Dorne where he believed they would be safe. The Eyrie and the Vale were cold and unfamiliar and they would never return to the sunny sands of their home.

In that regard Jace could sympathize with him, but at the same time everyone else had accepted their circumstances so why couldn't he? It wasn't like Oberyn's life had been threatened in the capital. It wasn't like his head had been demanded.

Princess Elia was simply grateful to be alive and have her children with her to experience it. None of that was more apparent when Jace had come across her sitting in the godswood on Jace's favorite bench while she hummed and embroidered with Lysa sitting across from her.

His mother had finally emerged from the sort of cloudy stupor she had been in since Jon's return and seemed to be adjusting to all of the new people in the Eyrie and this pleased Jace a good deal.

When he saw the two women sitting there he walked over slowly and then bowed to the both of them. "Hello mother, Princess Elia."

"Hello my brave boy," Lysa said smiling at him and Jace relaxed as she didn't seem to be in one of her moods today. They seemed to come upon her at the strangest times and they would always make Jace very nervous to be around her. Today she seemed to be in her right mind however so that steadied him.

Princess Elia smiled at him. "Hello Jace. How are you this day?"

"Very well my lady," Jace replied. "Would you mind if I sat next to you?"

The princess blinked and then smiled at him. "Why of course, this is all going to be yours one day."

"I know," Jace replied sitting down next to her. "But right now I'm just learning. And even though it'll be mine I'll still have to share it with other people, you and princess Rhaenys and Aegon for example."

"You know Jace," Elia said gently. "I don't think she would mind it at all if you called her by her name. You are going to be married one day after all."

Jace almost wanted to squirm. He called Rhaenys princess still almost as a way to distance himself from her. He was still mentally thirty years old so until they were both at the same age, he preferred to think of her simply as a friend.

"I suppose," he said. "But its somewhat hard when she doesn't call me by my name even though I've asked her to. She doesn't really call me anything really."

Elia sighed and put down her sewing. Rhaenys had been stone cold quiet ever since they had left the capital. Ever since Jaime had gotten her out from under her father's bed and the four of them had run from the Red Keep she had seen a good deal of the carnage going on throughout the city and Elia was afraid it had been imprinted on her mind forever.

Rhaenys was still older than Aegon who was a happy go lucky child who seemed not to have a care in the world. He had hated King's Landing because of the stink and the noise and had been more than happy to leave once she had explained what was going to happen to him.

Rhaenys however had worshiped her father and had been heartbroken when he had left to run off with Lyanna Stark.

Elia couldn't think about the girl's name without bristling. She had given Rhaegar two healthy children from her body, a daughter and an heir and yet because she hadn't produced another daughter soon after Aegon's birth to fulfill his thrice damned prophecy he had somehow gotten it into his head that she would be able to bear him no more children and had run off with the Stark girl who was little more than a child.

She had let go of her rage over what he had done and had simply been grateful for her life and the lives of her children. Jon Arryn was a very kind man who had fought tooth and nail with Robert Baratheon for their survival. His vehemence had shocked her and surprised her brother even more. Even though she was a political prisoner in the Eyrie and would never see Dorne again, it was far better than the fate that Tywin Lannister had been planning to dish out.

"I think that Rhaenys needs some more time to adjust," she said to the heir to the Eyrie slowly. "Leaving the capital was…hard for her. But that doesn't mean she can't love it here or won't love it here."

Jace twisted his hands together for a moment, a sudden idea entering his head. "Is there anything that Rhaenys liked doing in the Red Keep princess Elia?"

Elia felt her heart warm at the small boy who was doing his best to make her daughter happy.

 _He will be good for her,_ she thought to herself in regards to their marriage over a decade from now.

"Rhaenys loved to play in the gardens," Elia said somewhat wistfully and completely missed the lighting of Jace's eyes when he heard the sound of nature. "She particularly liked the godswood in the keep as well. All those white trees with their red leaves never failed to make her smile. She and her brother would sometimes play hide and seek beneath those trees and often times she was always trying to climb them so she might sit in their branches and be closer to the sky."

Jace was having a hard time containing his smile in that moment and simply stared down at his hands instead. Finally something he could do!

"Thank you my lady," he said quietly. "I think I know what to do now."

Without another word he slipped off his bench and bowed to her before hurrying from the godswood as quickly as he could.

 _What a wonderful boy,_ Elia thought as she watched him go. _So concerned with Rhaenys and her happiness. It seems there were several blessings when Jon Arryn took us to the Eyrie._

Meanwhile, up in the tower where the high hall was located two figures were looking down at the scene with very different perspectives.

One of them was Jon Arryn who smiled to see his son building a relationship with his future mother in law.

Gods but that felt strange to even think.

Jace had always been a quietly brilliant boy but he showed such intelligence in spades when the Martells had arrived. The presence of Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen seemed to have lit a fire within his son that hadn't been there before, causing him to be less serious and often times with a smile on his face.

He was glad for it. Jace deserved some playmates, especially since in a weeks' time he would be returning to King's Landing to serve Robert as Hand of the King.

While it chafed at him, he would need to leave Jace behind as he would be the Arryn of the Vale. Perhaps he could bring Lysa with him however, seeing the capital might do her some good. She had been cooped up in the Eyrie for five years since the two had wed and perhaps seeing the rest of the realm would be good for her.

"It has done her good being here," Prince Oberyn said suddenly shocking Jon out of his thoughts.

"Aye it seems so," the Lord of the Eyrie rumbled. "It has done my son good as well."

"I have not said it," the prince said somewhat grudgingly. "But thanks are in order. Without your help my sister and her children would have died."

Jon shook his head absently. "There were others that worked to save your sister and her children."

"Aye and I owe a debt to Lord Stark, Ser Jaime and Lord Varys as well. But none of them argued for the survival of Rhaenys and Aegon the way you did."

He turned to the Warden of the East and fixed him with a keen dark gaze. "And I would know why."

"Why I argued for their survival?"

"Aye."

Jon sighed and ran a hand through his greying hair. The truth was, his reasons for keeping Rhaenys and Aegon alive were more than just political and he had accepted that.

When he had looked into their sweet faces before riding back to the keep to negotiate with Robert he had seen the face of his son and felt a lump rise in his throat. He knew as a father with a child the same age as the prince and princess that he would have fought tooth nail for Jace's survival, no matter how many men died or how many wars he had to fight.

If he had let Robert do this disgraceful thing, how could he live with himself? How could he return to the Vale and the Eyrie and the Mountains of the Moon and look his own son in the eyes knowing he hadn't done everything he could to save some other parent's innocent children? How could he enjoy the love of his son if he hadn't done anything to ensure that some other parent could experience the love of theirs?

So he decided that he couldn't and had done everything in his power going forward to ensure that the prince and princess survived no matter how it soured his relationship with Robert.

Being a father had changed him…and he knew it. It would change Ned too whom he had heard word from that Catelyn had just given birth to their first child…a son.  
His name would be Robb and he would be Jace's cousin. Jon absently hoped that someday the two of them would meet and this family he and Ned were building would grow.

He had already guaranteed a portion of it with Rhaenys' marriage to his son when they were older. She seemed to be a sweet girl although very sad and he couldn't help but wince when he thought of what she had gone through in the capital.

Jaime Lannister had informed him that when he had gone to retrieve the princess that she was hiding in her father's chambers under his bed.

Jon envisioned Jasper in the same position and shuddered. No, he had done the right thing and no matter how the gods changed the future because of it he didn't regret it. He had seen the cold fury in the eyes of Tywin Lannister when he realized that his plans had been thwarted somewhat but the aging lord did not care.

He realized Oberyn was still looking at him and then sighed again, struggling for an answer. "My son is near in age to your niece and nephew Prince Oberyn. And though the three children are vastly different there are aspects of Jasper that I see in both Aegon and Rhaenys. When I looked in their eyes I saw my son. And what sort of a hypocrite would I be if I allowed the children of another to be done away with and then went home in safety to my son who is the same age as Aegon and Rhaenys? We started this war to bring about the end of a mad man, not to kill innocents or children for that matter and it is a principle that I still hold fast to. The king will not allow Targaryen to sit on the throne, but I will not allow him to kill the last of that dynasty out of spite…not matter what it costs me."

Oberyn eyed the aging lord for a moment before nodding slowly, a hint of grudging respect in his eyes. "You know that I cannot and will not support Baratheon."

"I know," Jon said quietly "and under the circumstances I will not ask you to."

Oberyn nodded and then turned away to leave the high hall before turning back and fixing Jon with one more look.  
"Despite the fact that we began this war as enemies, the fact that you have saved my sister and niece and nephew means that House Martell owes House Arryn a debt that can never be repaid. If you should ever have need of our swords…we will come. I swear it."

Jon could do nothing but nod tightly, a sudden emotion clogging his throat as he considered the new bonds that had been forged since he and Ned had protected Elia and her children.

Things with Robert were…strained to say the least.

He had expressed a desire to have Jon as his hand and the Lord of Eyrie had begged time off before making a decision in order to go back to the Vale with the last of the Targaryens and to see his wife and son.

In truth however, he didn't know how he was going to accept such a position.

Robert had been livid about the fact that Aegon and Rhaenys had been allowed to live and even angrier with him and Ned at this perceived betrayal.

Jon loved Robert like his own son and he still did. But the young man had been delusional and had still been to this day. He refused to consider any other perspective than his own and in order to get his point across at times Jon had felt as if he had had to pound a rock against Robert's skull numerous times.

It was exhausting being around him but then Jon didn't want to know who he would appoint to the position should he refuse. Ned would no doubt have no desire to leave the North as he too had a wife and son to care for and there was no one else that Robert trusted to fill this post.

Once more he would have to do his duty.

He sighed and looked down at his wife who was still sitting with Princess Elia.

He had been worried about Lysa of late. She had been acting strange and he had hoped that the presence of another woman in the Eyrie would be helpful to her in adjusting to her new life as Lady of the Vale.

Instead it had only seemed to make her more aloof and bizarre.

 _Perhaps I should take her to the capital with me,_ he thought to himself running a hand through the blonde hair that was beginning to pale to that of flaxen. _The busyness of it might do her some good. I'll leave Nestor in charge here. He has always been an excellent steward and has ruled the Eyrie well in my absence. Jace as the Arryn of the Vale will have to stay with him. I detest how complicated this situation is. As much as I trust Princess Elia, she and her children are still hostages of the Vale and now that Lewyn Martell has arrived along with Oberyn Martell and Jaime Lannister who is loyal to a fault to the Targaryens, things have become…tenuous to say the least. I do not want to bring every last Arryn from the Vale and leave those here behind to plot and scheme. Jace must also know his future wife and it would be good for him to be on good terms with his good mother and her family. I do not wish to take him away from the friends he has made. And I will not._

That decided, he turned away and walked down the high hall to the throne made from that of an ancient weirwood tree at the end of it.

 _The Arryns have ruled the Eyrie and the Vale for centuries, it is the falcon of the Falcon Knight that adorns our banner and I will have House Arryn grow strong again. Lysa is my third wife and she has given me my only son. A plan will have to be worked out but I will not take Jace from the Eyrie. He needs to know this place and grow in it as I did. He will sit upon this throne and rule the Eyrie from our seat. I will not take him out of this place only to bring him back to a home he is unfamiliar with. The people must trust him as they do me. Though it pains me, I will leave him with Nestor. Perhaps once every few months I will return and then when he is older as I am, I will send for him to come to the capital and see the workings of the royal court._  
Jon sat down on the white weirwood throne and gazed about the High Hall of the Eyrie. He had missed this place, but in one week he would be leaving again.

 _The falcon will fly again,_ he thought absently as he looked about the room. _As high as honor…it will fly._

Ω

One of the things that seemed to fascinate Aegon the most about the Eyrie was that of the moon door.

The Moon Door was a narrow weirwood door that stood between two slender pillars in the High Hall. A crescent moon was carved into the door which opened inward and was barred by heavy bronze. In the past, all of the executions that took place in the Eyrie used this door which opened onto a six hundred foot drop onto the stones below.

The Moon Door had never been opened since Jace had been born and a small part of him longed to see a view of the valley below.

But his father had strongly charged Nestor Royce that the door should never be opened. The sky cells remained bare as well and Jace was glad of that as he had never liked them. They were a form of psychological torture that made his head hurt to think about. Though the doors were opened to what appeared to be freedom there was nothing but sky and a long way down to get to the road below.

Many prisoners who had been in the cells in the past had committed suicide in order to not remain in them any longer.

It was a bit of a gruesome thought.

After what Elia had imparted to him about what Princess Rhaenys liked to do however, Jace had more on his mind than the bloody history of House Arryn.

Instead he had spent the last few nights in his chambers taking samples of the soil in the godswood of the Eyrie and searching for ways that he could make it more fertile and mineral enriched so as to actually plant weirwood trees and make it a garden for which its purpose was intended.

Unfortunately all of those things took time and he would need weirwood seeds in order to grow them.

Jace also wanted to see a heart tree with his own eyes. He had seen them in books and heard about them in legends from the north but he had never seen one and he wanted to.

He had asked Rhaenys what a weirwood tree looked like as she had seen one and he hadn't but she had simply responded that it was white, had red leaves and a face was carved into its center.

He needed to figure out what to do with her as well.

Jace didn't know where this desire to make her happy was coming from, but he knew he wanted to make Rhaenys smile, just for a little while if anything.

In the meantime, until his garden ideas has worked out, he had a few other notions of what might make Rhaenys happy.

Something he had always loved to do especially on bright nights was to go to the Maiden Tower which was the easternmost of the Seven Towers in the Eyrie and look at the constellations when the nights were clear.

Jace had never liked astronomy as much as herbology when he had been Neville Longbottom but it was still a discipline that had fascinated him especially because his good friend Luna had been so interested in it.

She claimed one could tell the future from the stars and knowing her, he didn't doubt it, especially because her mother had been a seer herself.

But he never knew what the constellations in the sky above the Eyrie were when they shone at night.

There was a red star that appeared sometimes and Jace knew that it was called the Red Wanderer which the septons and septas liked to say was connected to the Smith god.

Unfortunately he couldn't see much else unless he had a Myrish glass which he planned to ask his father for his sixth name day.

Jace wondered if Rhaenys would in fact like looking at the stars through such an instrument but then pushed the thought to the side.

It was beginning to become colder in the east and he had a feeling that winter was indeed coming. Now that Ned was his uncle because his mother was his wife's sister, Jace was connected to a Stark by marriage and he felt pleased saying the words.

He also wanted to visit his cousin Robb who had been named after the new king and see Winterfell which he had only heard tales about from Ned himself and his father.

Two days before his father was set to return to King's Landing to become the Hand to King Robert, a servant appeared at the doorway to the crescent chamber where Jace, Rhaenys and Aegon were all playing a game by the fire.

Since there was no such thing as exploding snap in this world, Jace had taken it upon himself to try and come up with something similar.

He had taken up whittling and had fashioned some cards for himself which were made of thin wood and had the carved faces of men and women on them. He had then charmed them with magic to change colors when a person made a mistake or waited too long to play their hand.

He knew of course questions would be asked but he had come up with a story that the cards were made from the bark of a weirwood tree so they were magic.

That part wasn't true of course but it was a good idea to make his new friends aware of magic all the same seeing as how Aegon would be his brother in law one day and Rhaenys would be his wife. They were all going to know about his magic sooner or later and he wanted to ease them into it before he dumped a bomb like that on them.

Unfortunately Rhaenys had shown a great aptitude for this game and had surprised Jace and Aegon by besting them several times since he had taught them how to play. She would never smile when she won, but it did please Jace to see the beginnings of a sparkle in her eye when she had gotten rid of all of her cards and he and Aegon still had a pile left.

This was how the servant found them as Rhaenys threw down her last card and both Aegon and Jace groaned in disappointment.

"How did you get so good at this Rhae?" Aegon demanded, using the pet name he had for his sister and which Jace secretly thought was funny. "Jace only taught us how to play it a few days ago."

"Mother says I have a quick mind," Rhaenys said quietly. Her face was now curiously blank but Jace could see that there was amusement in her purple eyes which made him smile. She had been as silent as a ghost these last few weeks since she and her brother and mother had arrived in the Eyrie that it was nice to see her talking and making conversation again.

 _Maybe we're passed the sad stage right now._

"Yes but mother says I have a quick mind too and I am not as quick as you yet," Aegon complained causing Jace to laugh.

"Mother also says I have more patience than you," Rhaenys quipped causing Aegon's eyes to go wide. "I have patience!"

Jace coughed and Aegon looked at him. "What?"

"Nothing," the heir to the Eyrie said quickly.

He was saved when the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them.

"Master Jasper?"

At the use of his full name Jace turned around and saw a servant in pale Arryn blue standing in the doorway of the Crescent Chamber. "Yes?"

"Your lord father requests your presence in the high hall immediately."

That was odd. His father rarely if ever asked to speak to him so formally and Jace was immediately wary. He and Jon were both serious individuals and they often had a habit of speaking man to man about some things.

The last time he and his father had spoken as men Jon had been preparing to leave for war and had told him he was now the Arryn of the Vale.

What could it be about this time?

"Very well," he nodded to the servant who nodded back and left before turning back to his friends. "I'll be back."  
Aegon nodded, already turning his mind back to the game and how he was going to best his sister as he had been unsuccessful so far.

But Rhaenys fixed Jace with a long look that the small blonde had a feeling was meant to see into his mind.

 _Is everything alright?_ She seemed to be asking with her eyes.

Jace nodded at her, grateful for the concern. Though she didn't talk as much as her brother, Rhaenys seemed to be more astute than Aegon when it came to nearly everything. While Jace and Aegon had become fast friends, Jace was far quieter and more contemplative than the former prince.

It was one thing that he and Rhaenys had in common.

A moment later the heir to the Eyrie turned and left the crescent chamber and walked down the halls leading to the one where his father was waiting for him.

 _I wonder if he is leaving again,_ Jace thought to himself. _I hope not. He's only been back for a few weeks._

Not long after he reached the high hall where he immediately saw his father sitting on the white weirwood throne, the ancestral seat of House Arryn.  
He paused and swallowed hard. _This is going to be more serious than I thought._

Jace allowed himself to stop only for a moment before he strode forward purposefully…or as purposefully as a five year old could stride.

"You summoned me father?" he asked as he came closer.

There was amusement in Jon's eyes as Jace neared and the small blonde could tell it amused his father to see him acting as if he were a miniature version of himself.

 _If only you could see the man that I was father, I don't think you would be very amused._

"I did my son, come closer," the aging lord replied and Jace did so until he was standing in front of the white weirwood throne.

"There is something I wish to tell you," Jon went on the moment Jace was standing in front of him.  
"You're leaving again," Jace said before Jon could get another word out.

Jon blinked at his son for a moment and then seemed to deflate slightly. "I am. King Robert has asked me to be his new Hand."  
Jace nodded. "I had a feeling. It was either you or Uncle Ned he was going to ask and I had a feeling it would be you."  
Jon frowned. "Really? How did you know?"

Jace shrugged. "Well, Uncle Ned has already returned to the north which is much farther away from the capital than the Vale. If he was going to be the new Hand why would he turn around and go home when he would have to come all the way back? Plus, Uncle Ned has never had any desire for power and has been a very quiet presence in the Eyrie. That's not to say that you want it either but I know you feel some sort of responsibility to Robert because he's lived here for so long and is in a new role. I don't like that you're leaving again, but I understand."

Jon blinked at his only son before offering him a bit of a smile. "You do don't you?"

Jace nodded. "I do. Keep Robert out of trouble, gods know how much he got into while he was here. How much more could he get into now that he's a king?"

There was a pause before Jon threw back his head and laughed. "My son I think that this a question we should not answer. I don't want to know how much trouble Robert can cause for himself. But now that he wears the crown it is my responsibility to ensure that the damages are minimal."

Jace snorted, sounding far older than five years old which he was. "Minimal…that word and Robert do not go together by any stretch of the imagination."

Jon blinked at him for a moment and shook his head. "My son sometimes I don't realize that you have been blessed with intelligence beyond your years. But bemoaning Robert's sometimes shameful qualities is not why I have called you here. I told you that I was leaving to serve as Hand to the new king and you are once more the Arryn of the Vale. Nestor will be in charge as he was when I was away, but there is one change. I am taking your mother to the capital with me."

That was something he hadn't been expecting to hear.

"You are?" the small blonde asked.

"I am."

"May I ask why?"

Jon sighed and ran a hand through his pale blonde hair suddenly looking older than his years. "Your mother has been…unwell of late. And I was hoping that perhaps the bustling nature of the capital would do her some good. She has been rather isolated in the Vale for the last five years since your birth and I thought perhaps her mind would ease if she is around other women."

It was his father's gentlest way of saying that Lysa Arryn had gone strange and he wanted to nip whatever was plaguing her mind in the bud before it got worse.

Jace didn't really know how to react to the knowledge that both of his parents were going to the capital and he was remaining in the Vale. This was his second life so he was independent enough to not need parents. He also felt rather proud that his father trusted him enough to leave him behind with Nestor to assist in the running of the Vale.

"Now this doesn't mean that I don't want you to come with me," Jon was saying. "However the Eyrie now has some guests that it did not have a year ago and it is my wish that you remain with them. As much as I trust Princess Elia, I do not wish to give the Martells full reign of the Eyrie while all the Arryns are in the capital. I also do not want to give Robert any excuse to prove me wrong about their intentions."

Jace nodded. "And you want me to keep an eye on them."  
"Not so much as keep an eye on them but as engage with them," Jon said quietly.

Unbeknownst to him Jace had silently through up a charm about the room to prevent anyone who might be around from hearing them. He had only ever done that once before when his father was present.

"Very well," he replied. "But I don't want to make enemies of our guests."

"I would not want you to," Jon said. "Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon are to spend the rest of their lives here. I want you to be on as good terms with them and the rest of the Martells as possible. You seem to have already adjusted to their presence rather well."

"Aegon is a good friend," Jace said with a slight smile. "And with a bit of work I think I can get Rhaenys to break out of her shell. Its just a matter of time."

"Very good," Jon said. "I'm glad you've developed such a rapport with them. Now as to the process with which we will see each other, I am hoping that when you are older and can ride your own horse there will be times when you come to the capital to see me and likewise there will be times when I will come to the Eyrie to see you. Our situation with the Martells is complicated and as such it would not be a prudent idea to leave our southern guests in the Eyrie without an Arryn present."

"You don't think they would try and escape do you?" Jace asked.

"Nay," Jon said shaking his head. "They would never make it past the bloody gate and if they somehow made their way out of the Vale, the penalty would be death for all concerned. No what I am concerned with is Doran Martell."

Jace frowned. "What does he have to do with anything? He is far away in Sunspear."

Jon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "In many ways Doran Martell is much like Tywin Lannister. The only difference is that he would not eliminate women and children for his own personal and political gain. However that alone does not make him less dangerous. He is a cunning man, a schemer and now that his sister and her children have survived the war but can never return home he will be plotting more than ever."

Jace's eyes narrowed. "You think he would plot to overthrow Robert and put Aegon on the throne?"

Jon shook his head. "No, at least not yet. He doesn't have the political might yet and it would be a suicide mission. Robert knows that the Dornish are not fully loyal to him and is looking for any excuse to go to war against them and bring them to heel. But he has not met with Doran Martell, I have. I was the one who orchestrated the idea to bring Elia Martell and her children here to the Eyrie. I have seen the man and I know that he will not be content to serve a king who in his eyes stole the throne from his nephew. He may not have thought about placing Aegon on the throne as yet, but I can promise you my son that it will be something that crosses his mind as the years go by. Doran Martell may not have liked the Targaryens for the way that they dishonored Elia but it does not mean he will discredit the fact that his nephew has Targaryen blood. He is someone that will bear watching as the years go by my son. Especially as you are to marry into his family."

Jace nodded and thought about that for a second before he asked a second question. "And what about the presence of Jaime Lannister in the Eyrie?"

Jon leaned back slightly. "Ah. A good question my son. He is an anomaly that we did not plan for. I cannot see the reaction of Tywin Lannister right now but I have a feeling that he is seething from the way his son has acted. But those actions are to our advantage. He will bear watching too, but not as closely. I have my own theories about him."

He said no more about the eldest Lannister son then and Jace decided not to ask.

"Now to how we are going to stay in touch," Jon went on. "As I was saying, perhaps when you are old enough to ride your own horse visits will be arranged for when you come to the capital and I come here. It would be complex but I believe we can make it work my son."

Jace paused for a moment and then had a thought. He had been wondering how best to break the knowledge to his father that he had magic and this was one of the reasons he had been so quiet in the last few years. Perhaps now was the time. Magic would be a good way to make seeing each other more convenient.

 _Very well,_ he thought to himself. _I suppose now is as good a time as any._

"Father," he said. "I may have a way to help with the long distance part of this problem."

Jon raised an eyebrow. "You do?"  
Jace nodded. "I do. And it may shock you at first, but I would ask that you please not react until its over. Please take my hand."

Jon narrowed his eyes at him before leaning forward so father and son were almost nose to nose. "What are you talking about Jasper?"

"I promise father, I will explain everything, but please take my hand and do not let go."

Jon looked down at the blonde's small hand and slowly and with some reluctance reached out and took it.  
Jace nodded before sending up a silent prayer to whatever gods existed in this world. _Please let this go over well._

He closed his eyes and centered the peak of the Mountains of the Moon in his mind. If anything would convince his father that he was different from other children and this was the way for them to keep in touch, than apparition was it.

"Jace what are you doing?" his father asked.

The small blonde didn't reply and a second later spun on his heel as fast as he could, tightening his grip on Jon's hand as he did so.

There was a frightful jerk and he felt his father's hand go lip in his grasp before there was a muffled exclamation.

Only when the heir to the Eyrie felt the heavy winds buffeting them back and forth did he open his eyes.

When he did so, Jace looked down and felt the snow about his knees. He looked up and could see three hundred and sixty degrees about him as he could if he were still at the top of the Giant's Lance.

In the distance he could see the Eyrie but it was nothing more than a faint silhouette and there was miles of sky all around them. The sky was impossibly blue but Jace had never felt closer to it. He almost felt as if he could truly fly up here. The lower peaks of the mountains below him were a stormy grey and Jace felt like the king of it all as he looked down on it all. The roads below him were so faint he could barely see them much less the Bloody Gate and there were the lower hanging clouds drifting over the lower mountain peaks constantly hiding what was below him from view.

It was quite a surreal experience.

"Jasper Arryn."

Jace flinched and looked up at his father standing beside him, arms wrapped about his shoulders to block out the cold, his face as white as the snow they were standing on and his eyes as large as two dinner plates as he looked around. "Where in the seven hells are we?"

Jace sighed and took a deep breath. "We are atop the Mountains of the Moon father. I apologize for how strange this is but I could think of no better way to show you that distances won't be a problem for me."

"How…" Jon trailed off, "When…."

Jace sighed again. "I knew this was going to come up sooner or later, but I didn't know how to tell you or how you would take the news. I suppose I'll just come out with it then. I'm not…quite normal."

Jon stared at him as if he had just spoken Dothraki. "That's all you've got to say."

Jace shook his head. "I know that you know that I am different enough from other children my age…but this one of the reasons why. Father I….I have magic."

Jon simply continued to stare at him and it was then that Jace realized the man's legs were trembling and he silently cursed himself. Even with this knowledge, Jon was an aging man and along with the shock this would cause, they were in an extremely frigid environment.

He immediately cast a warming charm about Jon's shoulders and the old man's trembling became very much less.

Jace let out a sigh of relief and then walked over so he could take his father's hand. "Why don't you sit down father? I'm going to assume you will have a lot of questions for me."

All Jon could do was nod as Jace led him over to a nearby rock that was half covered in snow and sat him down on it.

After that there was silence for a long time and Jace could see his father's jaw working back and forth which meant he was thinking hard.

After what seemed like a thunderous silence had passed when the only noise was the whistling of the wind high on the peaks, Jon finally looked up at his son and his blue gaze was an intense as Jace had never seen it. "How?"

"I've known for a while," Jace explained. "Since I was born there was this sort of…awareness and…energy in my blood. It was like a strange extension of my mind. There were a few times when I became angry as a baby and no one else was around. When I was angry, things around me would break."

Jon got a thoughtful expression on his face. "In fact I do remember hearing the nurse commenting on the amount of broken objects in your room after you had passed your first name day."

Jace gave him a sheepish smile. "That was me."

"But how does a strange ability to break things when you are angry translate to magic?" Jon asked.

"I don't really know," the small blonde explained. "I do know that I had this force of will ever since I was aware of it to be able to do things simply by wanting them done or thinking about them. And that explains why we are here now."

Jon was quick to catch on. "And so this would be a way for you to visit me in the Capital without anyone ever knowing what is happening."

"Or to bring you here to see me," Jace nodded.

Jon nodded and Jasper could see he was processing all of this as best as he could. He couldn't blame the old man for being bewildered. Magic was a lot for a Muggle to take in and he had never had to break this sort of news to anyone before as Neville Longbottom. He was a pureblood who had married a pureblood and had had magical children.

He wondered if this was how it had been for Hermione, having to explain to her extended family about her magic.

But then maybe she had never told them at all.

He was just thankful that magic was a part of history that Muggles knew about in greater detail here because of the dragons as opposed to the Muggles in magical England who hadn't believed in it at all.

His second father might be more receptive to it at any rate.

"This is a lot to process," Jon muttered.

"I know," Jace replied. "Its why I wanted to tell you now before I got older and then had ten years or so worth of magic to explain."

Jon let out a breathless laugh. "I suppose it's a good thing you did then. So you can take yourself anywhere in the country with no more than a thought?"

"I can," Jace nodded.

"That's incredible," the lord of the Eyrie muttered. "And no one else knows correct?"

"Correct."

"Good, let us keep it that way for right now. This information was overwhelming enough for me, how intense would it be for your mother or anyone else who does not know you as I do. So for the time being, please do not tell anyone else."

"Because of what others would think?"

"I don't give a rat's arse what others would think," Jon snapped. "You're my son, magic or no. This simply adds to the person that you are. But the Faith is highly present here in the south and if it were to be discovered that the heir to the East has a power like this, people might believe you would lead a coup against the faith and the Seven. The last thing we need is a holy war against the Vale."

"But you don't really believe that do you?" Jace asked.

Jon shook his head. "My son, you have shown me this day that I do not know the world as I think I do. After today, anything is possible. I'm not saying hide this gift but until I know more about it and you know more about it, please keep it under wraps. Do you understand? I have no wish for anyone to use this against you or to question your legitimacy in the governing of the east. Does that make sense?"

Jace thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Yes father."

"Good," Jon said with a sigh. "Now you've given me much to think about. Seeing as how I leave on the morrow for the capital, we had best be getting back. Is there another way to bring us back to the Eyrie than the one in which you brought us here?"

Jace smiled at his father. "Unfortunately no."

Jon sighed. "I feared as much. Is there a way for you to feel as if you are not going to void your stomach when you do it?"

Jace laughed. "Father all I can say is that the more you do it, you will become used to it and you will stop feeling sick."

Jon sighed again. "I was afraid of that. My son, suppose you come to visit me for the first little while in the capital. It would be easier for me to hide your appearance there than it would be for you to hide my appearance here."

"I can make it so that people don't see me when I come and that you are the only one," Jace offered.

Jon blinked and then buried his face in his hands. "Seven hells, I am becoming too old for surprises. I don't know if my heart can take it."

Jace chuckled, knowing it was one of the few times his father was jesting. Jon Arryn was the strongest man he knew and despite his age his resolve remained the same.

"Let me ask one final question before we leave and I spend the next week thinking about the fantastic things my son can do," he said.

Jace nodded. "What is the question?"

"All I want you to do is simply answer yes or no."

"Very well."

"Can you fly using your magic?"

"No."

"Can you change your shape?"

Jace considered that for a moment. While it was possible to change your shape with magic, he had never tried to become an animagus. Susan had been one however and she had often imparted to him the benefits of becoming one as well. But he had never formally learned.

"No," he said.

"Are there things you can conjure?" Jon asked. "For example, water or fire?"

"Yes."

"And you can make yourself invisible?"

"Yes."

"And if what I think you did is correct, you can change the temperature of a person?"

"In a way," Jace explained. "You were freezing, so I changed the temperature of the air around you. I call it a warming charm."

"That explains why we are standing atop the mountains of the moon and I feel as if I am in Dorne," Jon muttered. "My son, there will come a time when I will need to know all of what you can do. But that time is not now."

"I agree."

"So we are in agreement that you will keep this to yourself for right now. There will come a time when you need to tell others Lady Rhaenys for example, but it is not now."

"No it's not."

"Good," Jon said getting to his feet and reaching down for Jace's hand. "Now come, let us return to the Eyrie before you tell me of any other surprises and my heart really does give out."

Ω

 **Sorry for the near month between updating this story, I had some other things to work on and I was away all of last week. But now I am on an updating spree so hopefully this makes up for it. So Jace has told his father of his magic. He won't be telling Rhaenys and Aegon until they are older as Jon has asked him not to and his mother won't be finding out about it any time soon. Can you imagine how Lysa would react to something like that? I shudder just thinking about it. Anyway, Jace's apparition will make it easier for him and Jon to see each other when Jon is away being the Hand in the capital so that should solve any problems of a long distance relationship for the time being. So that's all for now. I hope you liked the chapter and don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jasper stood next to the party of Martells as he watched his father and mother ride out of the main court of the Eyrie.

Lysa had been hard pressed to let go of him and much to Jace's discomfort he had had to use a small repelling charm to get her into the wheelhouse and away from him.

He had hated to use such measures on his own mother but over the past few weeks since the Martells had arrived her behaviour had grown increasingly erratic, so much so that Jace was literally counting the days until she left with his father.

He was going to miss Jon far more than he would her.

Now perhaps he would have some peace and quiet in the Eyrie away from her possessive cloying nature.

The moment the wheelhouse and the men in Arryn colors bearing Arryn banners had disappeared out the gates and headed down the High Road to the bloody gate, Jace breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to see Elia Martell watching him closely.

"Are you alright Jasper?" she asked.

"Quite alright my lady," the boy replied. "I am now the Arryn of the Vale."

"That you are," she replied. "And I have no doubt that you will do a marvelous job."

She didn't sound placating like his mother may have been when she was assuring him that he would no doubt be a wonderful lord of the Eyrie and the Vale.

Jace found himself warming at her praise in fact.

But then he sighed. He was once more the Arryn of the Vale and at a young age, he was beginning to become used to the idea of being on his own again.

It wasn't as if he was a recluse in his first life as Neville, but at the same time he had had few friends in his first few years of school.

In fact it wasn't until he had joined Dumbledore's army in his fifth year at Hogwarts that he had really begun to feel as if he had friends at all. He had found a sense of confidence there that had been lacking in some of his academics and a good deal at home.

He had loved his Gran, he really had. But all of her expectations for him had centred around Neville being just like his father and all he wanted was to grow into the person that he was meant to be.  
He wasn't Frank Longbottom and he never would be and it had taken a long time for his grandmother to see that.

One of the most characteristic elements that his Gran had for making him out to be like his father was insisting that he Neville use his father's wand for three years until Professor McGonagall had finally figured out what the problem was and had taken him back to Diagon Alley to get a new one.

After that things had gotten better. He wasn't behaving like a dunce in class anymore and his grades slowly began to go up. But Herbology and runes had always been his favorites. He liked Charms as well and that liking had grown steadily as he had become better at it and it had been a regular part of his occupational duties as an Unspeakable.

But he had still loved indulging in herbology in his spare time at home with his daughter Amelia and teaching her everything he knew.

In fact he had had a plaque sitting on the wall in his office back at his and Susan's home that had awarded him the highest grades in herbology out of all of his peers in his year for seven years straight. It was still something he was very proud of.

And just then as he was standing beside the Martells with his Arryn guards watching his father and mother descend the High Road and make for the Bloody Gate, he had an idea.

It was a technique he had invented after the war in his spare time when he had been alone in his green house.

His gran had been bemoaning the fact that none of her flowers had come up that year when for the last few years they had always bloomed right on time.

It was then that Neville had discovered that all of the rains that had come that spring had had a hand in washing out the top layer of soil making the ground shallow.  
So he had come up with an idea involving both runes and herbology, a way in which the seeds he planted would magically enrich the soil.

It was a complicated process which involved carving specific runes with his wand into the surface of the seeds themselves which was in itself meticulous.

He would also need to find the seeds that he needed and then enlarge them so it would be easier to carve the appropriate markings into them.

Now granted Jace didn't know if this magical process would work on non-magical seeds but he had a feeling that the weirwood trees possessed some degree of magic because of the faces that were carved into them by the mythical children of the forest.

Jace was relieved that at least there seemed to be some form of magic in this world that he could relate to and it made him all the more determined to learn more about it and the history of the First Men that it was tied to in general.

So in order to enact this process he would need to find weirwood seeds and plant them in the godswood.

Ah well, there was still time on that matter as well.

Just then Rhaenys tugged on Jace's arm causing him to look up. She didn't smile at him but there was a level of concentrated interest in her violet eyes and he had a feeling she was going to ask him something.

"Why don't we finish our game?" she asked in her soft voice and Jace didn't hesitate to smile at her. "Alright."

"What's the point?" Aegon groaned. He had been standing on Jace's other side watching as the wheelhouse and the horses disappeared from sight. "Rhae will just beat us again."

"Don't be so certain," Jace told his friend. "I think I am getting better at it. Maybe this will be the time that I win."

Rhaenys muttered something under her breath that sounded curiously like the words _you wish_ before she took Jace by the arm and all but dragged him back towards the Eyrie.

Jace smiled as she tugged him. She was beginning to open up some and it was far easier to talk to her now than it had been a few weeks earlier when she had just arrived in the Vale.

Rhaenys seemed to have accepted that this place was going to be her new home and had been coming more and more out of her shell as the days passed which made Jace happy.

He was still uncomfortable about the idea of marrying her as he had had a daughter who was that age before he had been flung through the Veil so the notion of it was giving him a headache.

However there was still at least another thirteen years before he would need to fulfill the agreement that had been set forth between his father and Prince Doran so there was still time to become used to the concept.

Aegon meanwhile had become even bubblier which made him fun to be around.

Even as Jace, he had always been a quiet person who was somewhat reserved so it was nice to have a good friend that would talk in order to fill the silence and who had a bright enough personality that would combat the lack of conversation from someone else.

And even though they were opposites, both Jace and Aegon got along famously because they complimented each other in their personalities.

And others were beginning to take notice.

As the trio hurried off back into the keep, they were being observed by both Elia, Oberyn, and Lewyn Martell.

"I like him," Elia's uncle said quietly and the princess of Dorne smiled at him. "He seems to be a level headed boy and quite intelligent for his age. I suppose we may perhaps count it as a blessing in disguise that Rhaenys is to be married to Jasper Arryn and not someone of King Robert's choosing."

Oberyn's upper lip had curled at the mention of the new king and his dark eyes had narrowed. "That walking wine skin is no king. He will not be able to hold the throne for more than ten years."

"So you say Oberyn," Elia said with a smile. "But we of all people should know that leadership can sometimes change hands or last for a lifetime. The First Men of the north did not fall to the Andals when Westeros was invaded thousands of years ago even though it may have been expected. We need to be prepared for anything."

"Aye," said her uncle. "But Baratheon has won the throne by force and though peace has been achieved, it is a tenuous thing. The man is a warrior not a politician and mark my words, the realm will suffer for it."

"As you say Uncle," Elia said with a shrug. "But right now the concerns of the realm are none of mine. My only responsibility is to keep an eye on my children and raise them as I see fit."

"Too right you are," Oberyn said looking at his older sister with a small smile and the affection on his face was plain to see. "And in the meantime I believe as the young Jasper Arryn grows I will need to assess his worth and determine for myself whether or not he is deserving of Rhaenys. I may respect his father, but I do not know the son."

Elia wanted to roll her eyes at her brother's nonsense. "Jasper Arryn is the spitting image of his father in body and personality. He is still a child but I have already seen glimpses of the honor and courtesy that he has extended to us since we have arrived here. I never would have expected that from someone of his age and yet he continues to surprise me. So for the love of all the gods old and new Oberyn, you will not insult House Arryn because of your foolish ideals about who is and who is not good enough for Rhaenys. You are not her parent, I am. And if I determine that Jasper Arryn is good enough for my daughter, than who are you to tell me that I am wrong?"

She stalked off in the direction that the trio had gone in leaving both male Martells behind her in various stages of confusion and amusement.

"She always did have a way of putting you in your place didn't she nephew?" Lewyn said smirking at the bewilderment on the younger man's face.

Oberyn waved off his words. "I did not realize concern for my sister and my niece had become a crime."

"Hmm, not a crime perhaps but an annoyance no less."

Oberyn simply snorted before the two of them turned and walked back to the Eyrie.

Ω

Another few weeks of relative silence passed in the Vale in which the events seemed to follow a routine of the everyday, the mundane and the simplistic.

Jace got up, took in his own lessons with maester Coleman along with Aegon and Rhaenys, simple things like learning to read, practicing sums and learning the basics of politics.

Jace already knew how to read already and had stunned both Coleman and his father when he had picked up a book a few months ago that had been on Jon's desk in his solar and proceeded to read the entire first page word for word without stopping or pausing to pronounce the difficult words.

It was only when he had looked up from his book that he realized what he had done and had gone slightly red at the slack jawed expressions they were giving him.

After that Jon had determined that Coleman test him with the hardest material he had and Jace had delivered each and every time.

While Jon had been over the moon about his son's progress and intelligence, Jace got the funny feeling that Coleman wasn't as pleased and for the life of him he didn't know why.

Perhaps it was that intelligence that others thought he had that made him unpredictable and so they were cautious around him. Perhaps it simply was that he was no more a child mentally than he was Neville Longbottom anymore. Or perhaps it was simply an intelligence that Coleman hadn't come into contact with before and so was testing the waters on how to deal with it.

Either way, he had been given far more advanced material to cover than Aegon and Rhaenys who were still learning the basics.

Aegon often complained that his sister and his best friend were better at him than everything but that wouldn't be strictly true. Rhaenys was a fast learner when it came to reading and her brother excelled at sums.

Something the former princess was also good at was healing as it was something Coleman had begun teaching the three of them. She had a practiced eye and steady hands which made Jace think absently that she would have excelled at potions had they gone to school together in his first life.

In their spare time, Jace had coaxed Nestor into teaching him how to ride a horse as it would be expected of when he inherited the Vale from his father.

Against his better judgement, Nestor had agreed and had found the slowest pony in all of the stables for the heir to the Vale to ride.

It was a little embarrassing sitting on this slate grey creature who was more interested in grazing than anything else and seemed to be the unfortunate victim of fleas. But Jace often had to remind himself that no one knew he had thirty years of experience with which to draw upon and that no one expected him to become a master at everything he tried.

But it was a little nice when he took to riding a horse as Nestor claimed: "like one who had been born to it."

He sat with a straight back and lowered shoulders, keeping firm but relaxed and was able to learn how to use his heels to urge the horse forward.

 _If only Gran could see me now,_ he thought to himself with a grim smile.

Of course when Aegon saw that his friend was learning how to ride he all but begged his mother to let him learn too.

Elia had been wary at first given the fact that they were still just children but she seemed hesitant to deny her son or daughter anything given that she had very nearly lost them not too long ago. So after much prodding and some prompting on the part of Lewyn Martell, she had agreed.

Her uncle had decided that he would walk and stand with the horse that his great niece or nephew were on no matter where it went or how long they remained on its back and this suggestion had comforted Elia.

Lewyn Martell, unlike Prince Oberyn was a patient teacher and Jace found he liked Aegon's great uncle. Not only was the man a terrific swordsman but at the same time he was also easy to speak with and talk to.

And seeing as how he was going to remain in the Eyrie with princess Elia and her children, guarding them for the rest of his life, whatever knowledge about this world that Jace needed, he would always be able to go to him.

Rhaenys seemed to brighten up exponentially when she was riding a horse and her smile was such a nice thing to see. She did it so little that when she smiled, it was cause enough for Jace to smile as well.

However it wasn't until he received a letter from his father in the capital that Jace learned of some other way of making Rhaenys happy.

It was early morning in the Eyrie and always being an early riser, Jace had arrived at the High Hall just after the crack of dawn to break his fast. The cook and servants were always amused by the mature little lordling asking politely for his meal before anyone else was awake which was both humorous and irritating to Jace.

But thankfully enough, they never asked any questions and simply brought him his food with a smile on their faces which was politely returned.

On this particular morning however Jace had no sooner dug into the porridge in his small bowl when a shadow fell across his table and he looked up into the somewhat beady eyes of Maester Colemon.

Now while Colemon was responsible for Jace's lessons, the young blonde made sure that he wasn't around the man too much. The fact that he had too little hair and too much neck was something that just didn't sit well with Jace about his physical presence.

But every keep must have a maester and unfortunately Colemon was theirs. He was considering writing to his father however and requesting that another younger more personable one be sent from the citadel.

He wanted to learn as much as he possibly could in this new life…but he didn't want a professor Snape type character looking over his shoulder as he did it.

All these years later and Jace still remembered the grim and dour greasy haired man who had swept around the dungeons like a great bat and terrorized those students who were not of Slytherin house.

Gods but he had hated potions when he was still in school. Snape always seemed as if he had had an ulterior motive somewhere and as the years had gone by leading up to Voldemort's return he had become more and more mysterious to the point where it almost seemed as if he were a ghost in the castle.

Colemon already seemed to be the embodiment of Snape barring his rather too large neck of course.

Something that also concerned Jace was the fact that the man was rather fond of using leeches on his patients to drain blood and perhaps thinking that any imperfections or impurities would be taken out of the body as a result of those nasty creatures.

While Colemon did have the necessary links in his chain in order to be a maester, Jace often wondered what the maesters of the citadel would think about the use of leeches on men and women, perhaps highborn nobles and then wondered if they would even care.

He would need to keep a closer eye on him over the next little while and see if the man did anything foolish.

But for now he simply raised an eyebrow at him. "What can I do for you maester Colemon?"

He was beginning to become used to his child's voice but it was still annoying as there was no possible way he could ever be found intimidating or command respect in the body he was in. At least not yet.

"A raven arrived earlier this morning Lord Jasper," Colemon said smoothly and produced the document from behind his back. "It appears to be from your lord father. It would seem he arrived in the capital a few days ago."

At this news Jace's eyes brightened and he took the thin white folded and sealed parchment from Colemon without delay.  
"Thank you maester," he said before attending to the pale blue wax pressed into the paper that bore the sigil of House Arryn, a sky blue falcon.

He barely noticed when Colemon strode away and broke the seal before anything else could distract him.

Upon seeing his father's familiar scrawling script Jace smiled slightly before settling down to read.

 _My Dear Son_

 _We have made good time to the capital and thus arrived no more than a few days ago. I apologize for not writing the moment we arrived but as the balance of power has shifted no more than few months ago there is much to do and to uncover about the last few months of the reign of Aerys Targaryen. Your mother is settling in nicely though she does miss you and will doubtless be writing to you soon as well. A raven is no doubt winging its way to the Eyrie as I write this. King Robert sends his well wishes as he remembers the last few years in the Vale with you with fondness. He is looking forward to your visits as am I._

 _I do hope life in the Eyrie has not been too dull but with Aegon and Rhaenys around I doubt you will be too lacking in things to do. I on the other hand have far too much to do in the way of establishing a small council. I aim to see Lord Varys retain his position as Master of Whispers as it was through his ingenuity that Princesses Elia and Rhaenys and Prince Aegon were able to escape. I do not know the man's motives in orchestrating this risky venture but I cannot argue with the results._

 _In the meantime there is still much to ensure power in the Vale as well. If you wish to know the customs progression at Gulltown, be sure to ask Nestor. I have sent him another letter regarding what must be handled in our lands._

 _My son, King's Landing is not like the Eyrie and the Vale. There is a thin layer of subterfuge and deceit to everything that is done here and I like it not. As I often say, if there is a wasp in the room and it goes away somewhere it will be worse as we shall not know where it is and it can sting us without knowing._

 _There are too many secrets in this city for my liking and as Hand of the King I will need to unveil them all. I will not get into specifics my son as I do not wish to bore you or say too much._

 _Stay close to Nestor within the next little while and learn all you can about ruling the Vale from him. He has sent me a detailed report of the workings of the Eyrie since I departed for the capital and I am well pleased with his success._

 _Be well my son. It is my wish that we will see each other soon._

 _Jon Arryn, Lord Paramount of the Vale, Warden of the East, Hand of the King_

Jace frowned upon completing the letter and pushed it to one side before going back to his porridge and bread.

His father had often told him that one of the things he loved most about the Vale was its silence. The Eyrie seemed far away from any other goings on or political intrigue that the rest of the realm seemed to suffer from. Here the people respected and loved him for he ran the Vale with a firm but fair hand.

Judging from Jon's words about the atmosphere of King's Landing however, it would perhaps be anything but fair there.

He had never been to the capital but Aegon had told him once that the place was dirty and smelly and he couldn't go very many places in the keep because "his grandfather wouldn't like it."

Jace had a feeling that those were Elia's words, not Aegon's.

The matter of the Martells still puzzled him.

He liked Elia well enough and Lewyn was beginning to grow on him, but Oberyn Martell was still a mystery. He had kept to himself pretty well since coming to the Eyrie and had not gone out of his way to acquaint himself with any members of the Arryn household other than perhaps his father.

Jace understood that he still appeared as a child to everyone so not as many people would speak to him. It was irritating though. While he enjoyed respect because of his intelligence, there were few other than Nestor who would discuss matters of politics with him.

 _I need to see father,_ he thought to himself. _And soon._

Upon finished his porridge, he hopped down from the chair and ventured off to his chambers so he might put his father's letter away before going in search of Nestor.

It wasn't until he passed the chambers of Rhaenys Targaryen, noticed the partially opened door and heard voice from within that he paused.

"I know you miss him darling, but I'm sure he's safe somewhere," the voice of Princess Elia said and Jace frowned slightly.

"I know," the small like voice of Rhaenys replied. "But I wish he was here with me. He disappeared into a hole in the wall right before Ser Jaime came to get us."

"He's probably chasing mice somewhere deep in the keep," Elia said gently. "Balerion always used to love to hunt. That cat never met a fight he didn't win. I sometimes wonder how the tip of his ear remained on after so long."

"Balerion is strong," Rhaenys said proudly. "He's just like the ancient dragon King Aegon rode and just as fierce."

"Indeed," Elia said with amusement in her voice. "But why don't we see if we can get you a new cat. I'm sure Jasper would have no problem getting one for you."

 _Your confidence in me is appreciated Princess Elia,_ Jace thought with a smile.

He peeked around the corner of the door then to see Elia sitting in a chair by the side of Rhaenys bed and the younger sitting on the side of it swinging her feet back and forth somewhat dejectedly.

"But Balerion used to chase the bad dreams away," she said softly. "I never had any bad dreams when he slept with me. Now the bad dreams are worse."

"What do you dream of Rhaenys?" Elia asked softly.

"The keep," her daughter said softly. "All the smoke and the flames, all the screaming., the bad men chasing us. Balerion scratched him in the face you know. Papa…he's not coming back."

"No," Elia replied so low that Jace could barely hear her. "He's not coming back."

"I miss him," Rhaenys said tearfully. "And I miss grandmother."

"I know," Elia said softly. "I miss her too. But she's safe in Essos now with Uncle Viserys and your new aunt Daenerys."  
"Will I see her again?" Rhaenys asked hopefully.

Jace glanced at Elia in time to see her face twist with an unknown emotion, grief….perhaps regret. "I don't know sweetling."

He knew that she knew that she and her children would never leave the Eyrie for the rest of their lives and unless something happened to topple Robert and the Lannisters from the throne, there was no way Queen Rhaella and her children could return either.

Having heard enough, he turned and slowly tiptoed away.

Ω

Another moon passed in which Jace spent his time running about the Eyrie with Aegon and Rhaenys, playing games, walking their very small ponies about the training yard and otherwise exploring the Eyrie.

Late one night a few weeks into Jace's term as the Arryn of the Vale, he was standing at the window of his chambers looking out at the mountains of the moon when a sudden realization came to him.

He had been puzzling about where he was going to get his hands on some weirwood seeds as there were so few weirwood groves in the Vale. The soil was too rocky and just wouldn't allow for anything other than the hardiest trees to take root which was beyond irritating.

So far he hadn't seen any godswoods anywhere nearby but then he hadn't been out of the Eyrie really at all since his father had left.

And that night as he was leaning out of his window, peering down the high road, past the bloody gate and even further than that, something snacked into his face and he reeled back in surprise.

When he put his hand up to touch his cheek, he was surprised for it to come away with a red leaf in his hand.

He was even more shocked to discover a second later that it was a crimson leaf belonging to a hearts tree.

 _Where in the Seven Hells did this come from?_ Jace wondered before dashing back over to the window and leaning halfway out, gripping the leaf as tightly as he could.

Fortunately it was a full moon that night and the visibility was much better than the last week it seemed.

Jace must have been standing there for what appeared to be another half of an hour before he thought he saw a flash of white far down in the rocks below the Eyrie. It seemed to lie directly under Alyssa's tears though no water ever reached the floor of the valley. The waterfall itself lay on the west side of the Giant's Lance, just below where Jace had his chambers

He blinked and peered closer, willing the moonlight to get a little bit brighter so he might make out whether it was a tree or not.

 _All I need is one bloody hearts tree,_ he thought to himself gritting his teeth.

And then to his utter astonishment the mist and shadows from the waterfall began to clear and he was just able to make out the silhouette of a white tree with crimson leaves flashing in the moonlight.

Jace felt his breath catch in excitement. _There's my prize._

He had never been down into the valley surrounding the high spire of the Giant's Lance and there had always been so much mist surrounding the waterfall and the ground below that he had hardly ever even seen the valley there.

Now Jace began to wonder why it was that he had never even looked. He had lived as Jasper Arryn for a few years now and was far more aware of his surroundings as a babe here than he had been as Neville Longbottom.

So why had he never explored the misty valley below the Eyrie?

"Ah well," he muttered to himself. "Better late than never."

And then he closed his eyes and centered the image of the heart tree he had seen on the valley floor in his mind, took a deep breath and spun on his heel, disappearing from his chambers with a crack.

When he opened his eyes again, Jace immediately felt the chill on his skin through his thin tunic and shivered for a moment.

And then he blinked and almost went slack jawed.

He appeared to be standing in a narrow cleft at the edge of a bowl shaped valley that ringed around the Giant's Lance and then disappeared south.

There appeared to be a large river cutting through the valley but from where he couldn't tell.

It was then that he felt a drip on his head and looked up in surprise. Jace realized with a jolt that most of the mist generated by Alyssa's Tears was large enough to create a sort of curtain of fog and shadow so that the valley would rarely if ever be visible to those looking down from the Eyrie.

 _It would be the perfect place for someone to hide,_ he thought to himself.

The mist was so thick down in the valley that he could barely see ten feet in front of him.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Jace banished the mist with a wave of his hand and then almost jumped back in surprise with a startled oath when he realized what he was seeing.

Scattered all along the edges of the river on either side were the most enormous weirwood trees he had ever seen. They towered over his head and must have been at least fifteen feet tall with branches spread in every direction making the trees bushy and full lending to the general appearance of their enormity.

The trunks were bone white with the leaves a stark blood red in contrast. Their roots were large and deep and in some places extended clear into the ware of the river. He couldn't see how deep the river was but only that it seemed to extend all along the valley before passing through a cleft far off in the distance and disappearing altogether.

And there were weirwoods…..trees as far as the eye could see.

The moon had a hand in lending an atmospheric ethereal quality to the place, making the river appear a road of silver and as still as the glass of a mirror. Jace could still hear it passing over the rocks along the edge of the bank but it otherwise made no sound.

Moss covered the rocks and looked slick with water. There were more moss covered rocks further up the bank scattered in and around the weirwood trees. The scent of the moss was almost overpowering but for some reason, Jace didn't seem to mind.

He had never seen a real weirwood tree before so when he beheld the faces carved into their trunks with some unknown tool it was a little startling.

Just as he had read however, the eyes of each tree trunk were red with the sap of the tree and appeared thoughtful and keen. They seemed to follow him as he looked around at the many different trees and he wondered for a moment if they were in fact sentient creatures and were watching him.

It was almost too quiet and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as a few questions passed through his mind.

"What is this place? Jace muttered to himself. "And how in the Seven Hells did it go unnoticed for this long?"  
He wondered for a moment if there was some sort of magic about this place as there was no other explanation for why it was unnoticed.

Weirwood trees were not as common in the south as the Faith of the Seven had taken over regular doctrinal practices.

Personally Jace liked the weirwoods much better than the septs that were as common these days as shit in King's Landing. Perhaps it was because he had always been better with plants than humans and he was always happiest when he was around nature or perhaps it was just because he found them more peaceful.

The Children of the Forest were said to have carved every face into every weirwood tree before the First Men arrived on their land bridge. He had also heard stories of the mysterious Isle of Faces in which the pact had been struck between the First Men and the Children ending their ancient blood feud.

It was located somewhere in the Riverlands which were the neighbors of the Eyrie and as soon as Jace had learned about it two years earlier he had been dying to visit it.

 _I wonder if the Isle of Faces looks anything like this,_ he wondered to himself as he slowly began to walk through the trees on the bank of the river. He had never seen so much weirwood at one time before and then decided it must be some sort of magic that was guarding this place.

His father had lived in the Vale his entire life and had never mentioned something like this to him, never gave any indication that he had even seen it. There was no way he could have known.

 _What sort of magic hid this place away,_ he wondered to himself as he paused before a particularly enormous heart tree on the bank of the river and looked into its ancient face.

It almost appeared to be the face of an old man with wrinkles about its eyes and mouth and for a moment Jace wondered if the age of the face carved in the tree was a representation of how old the tree itself was.

He had forgotten all about his earlier mission for obtaining weirwood seeds so he might actually start growing them in the godswood of the Eyrie. As far as he was concerned, this was far more interesting.

It was almost as if this a hideaway, arranged and cared for by whatever supernatural powers of the old gods still existed in the south. Jace mused upon the idea of telling his father about this place and then decided he would think about it later.

The bark of the tree was bone white and so smooth, he thought for a moment that it had been sanded down. There were knots as large as two of his fists put together on the upper branches and he would have had to stand on his four year old head at least twenty times in order to reach the top.

The face carved into the tree was at least a foot across and perhaps a foot high as well. None of the other trees had a face carved into it that was this enormous and Jace supposed because it was the biggest tree he had seen so far and thus needed the biggest face.

He looked closer and was startled to see some physical similarities between the face carved into the tree and someone he had once known from his old life.  
 _That's not possible,_ Jace thought to himself in astonishment. _He'd been dead for almost fifteen years in my old life. It must be a trick of the light._

As he peered carefully into the eyes of the tree, there was almost a prickling sensation at the back of his neck, the notion that someone was watching him.

Jace shuddered for a moment, realizing again that this must be a very sacred place. Somehow the idea that the trees might be watching him wasn't alarming however.

Instead it made him feel….safe.

He turned back to the heart tree he had been staring at originally and blinked when he saw a brief flash of green in the eyes.  
How was that possible?

He leaned even closer and in doing so, unconsciously placed both of his hands on the sides of the carved face to keep his balance.

Just then a wind seemed to race through the forest of weirwoods causing goosebumps to rise on Jace's arms. He looked around wildly and pulled back from the tree.

Or rather he tried to pull back from the tree…it seemed his hands had suddenly become stuck to the sides of the face and he could no more move away than he could suddenly sprout wings and fly.

 _"_ _We must return….bring us back…."_

The voice echoed through his mind and through the leaves of the trees around him with a gale force. They seemed to be carried on the wind and bouncing around in the caverns of his mind at the same time.

"Who's there?" he shouted out but received nothing but the whistling of the wind through the trees again.

It was then that he looked back at the face of the weirwood tree that he suddenly couldn't let go of and gasped aloud.

The eyes…

The eyes of the tree had suddenly become a much darker red and appeared to be almost glowing.

 _That's not possible…._

 _"_ _Isn't it time you stop thinking about what's possible and start accepting that there are things you don't understand? We must come back….."_

Jace looked back into the eyes of the tree in fear and awe. "Who….Who are you?"

 _"_ _Someone you have long since forgotten….."_

Just then the world seemed to twist and there was an intense feeling of vertigo making him almost void his stomach. Jace clenched his eyes shut as a wave of intense dizziness came over him and he had to fight not to black out.

When the spinning came to a stop be stumbled and then collapsed onto all fours on the ground.

Or rather….it wasn't the ground anymore, but an odd floor made of roughhewn stone that was covered over with a rich red rug that seemed oddly familiar.

"What….What the bloody hell was that?" he muttered.

"I thought your apparition had gotten better over the years my boy, tsk tsk tsk, I can see that this is something we'll need to work on."

Jace's eyes narrowed. That voice….he had heard it before.

He looked up to realize he was no longer in the weirwood forest but instead kneeling on the rug of a room whose walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of books. There was a fire burning in the hearth across the room. It crackled cheerily inside of its grate and there were two comfortable looking chairs placed in front of it.

He looked around further and saw a familiar desk sitting across the room which was slightly elevated so that it could see all around the room and into every corner. On a table by the fire there was an oddly shaped bowl filled with water and next to it was another bowl of some maddeningly familiar yellow treats.

"Well don't just stay there kneeling on the floor," the voice said again. "Have a lemon drop my boy, I guarantee they are good for curing any sort of headache left behind by a forced apparition."

At those words, Neville looked up in astonishment to see an old man step from the shadows. He was dressed in the robes of a master and not the garish ones he had so often seen him wear at the head table during meals in the great hall, but Jace recognized him all the same. His beard was still long and hanging to his waist and snowy white and the half-moon spectacles were still on his nose.

He was giving him a kind smile and seemed oblivious to the fact that the small blonde was gasping like a fish at the sight of him. "Surprised to see me my boy?"

And then Jace opened his mouth and uttered the two words he would never expect to say to this person again.

"Professor Dumbledore?!"

Ω

Jace would later learn that it had taken no time at all to talk to the wizard from the past but it did seem like a lifetime to him.

Once he had finished gaping at his old head master like an idiot he had somehow managed tp get to his feet.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore hardly seemed changed from the last time Jace had seen him. He still appeared as old and jolly as ever, with one glaring difference. He no longer covered up his hand as he had in the last year that he had seen him alive.

After the war, Harry had told him that Dumbledore's hand had been shrivelled and infected due to him trying to rid the world of one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

The magical backlash hadn't killed him, but it would have if Snape hadn't done the deed.

There was a lot Harry had to explain to him after the war and it took a while for him to wrap his head around it.

Horcruxes, poisons, basilisks and the death of many people dear to Harry had led to a day where he and Neville got piss drunk at the Hogshead after having to explain it all before stumbling back to their respective homes.

Neville had been torn between sorrow and rage and confusion and laughter and then back to sorrow all over again.

And one of the many subjects of all of that was now standing in front of him looking very much alive and whole.

Needless to say he had a lot of questions.

"Neville Longbottom," the professor said with a smile. "Or perhaps I should Jasper Arryn. My, it has been a long time hasn't it?"

"I should say so," the boy muttered scrambling to his feet. "Where the bloody hell am I? And how are you here professor?"

"I'm not alive in the sense that I am still a living breathing part of your world if that's what you're going to ask," Dumbledore said and then gestured to the two chairs sitting by the fire. "I have a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it. Shall we sit down?"

Jace blinked and tried to focus. "I'm feeling very confused right now professor. How are you here and what's going on?"

Dumbledore didn't answer until he had seated himself on the left easy chair by the fire and reached for a bowl on the table between them.

Reluctantly, Jace walked over and sat in the chair opposite him.

"Lemon drop?" the professor asked and the small blonde almost wanted to laugh at how easy it was to slip back into his old life. "No thank you."

"Very well, more for me," Dumbledore replied cheerily before tossing one into his mouth. "Now to business. I'm sure you have a few questions."

"More than a few."  
"Then shall we answer them?"

Jace nodded. "How are you here professor and where on earth am I? I'm not back at Hogwarts in the life I came from am I?"

Dumbledore chuckled and shook his head. "No my boy. You're still in the body you were in when you touched the weirwood tree. You're still in the forest in fact, this is all taking place in your mind. Look."

He reached a hand into one of the pockets on his dark robe and pulled out a handful of powder before tossing it into the flames.

Jace peered closer and blinked in surprise when he saw an image of himself in the flames leaning against the very same heart tree with his eyes closed. It almost appeared as if he were sleeping.

A moment later the image disappeared and he turned back to Dumbledore. "Alright, well if I'm still Jasper Arryn and this is all taking place in my mind, then how on earth are you here?"

"It's both simple and complex," Dumbledore replied in that annoyingly patient tone of his. "I've been awakened for a task my boy, and soon I will go back to sleep. But they told me you would need me for this short time. And so I came."

Things were not becoming clearer.

"They?" Jace asked. "And who the bloody hell is they?"

Dumbledore merely smiled and sipped from the cup of tea that had somehow appeared in his hands.

"See for yourself," he replied before tossing another handful of strange powder into the fire. Just then the flames suddenly blazed higher and nearly burst out of the fire place and seemed to form a sort of image in which parts of the flame were spread wider like a….like a tree.

And then it clicked.

"The…The old gods?" he stammered. "They're real?"

Dumbledore merely chuckled. "My boy you have questioned many things about who you were since I have known you. You questioned whether you had magic or were a squib. You questioned whether or not you should go to Hogwarts. You questioned whether or not you should be in Gryffindor. You questioned whether or not you would ever get better at learning magic or learn to fly a broom. But most importantly you questioned whether or not you were brave. And when the moment came to prove yourself….you answered all those questions."

Jace blinked at his old professor and then felt a sudden lump in his throat.

Even though he looked like a child, Dumbledore was addressing him as the adult that he was and that meant a lot.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" he asked.

"Because you suffer from perpetual self doubt my boy," Dumbledore explained. "You still have sorrow over Susan and your children but you need to realize it wasn't your fault for leaving them. You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

Jace cast his eyes down at his knotted hands, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. The chair was far too big for him and his legs hung down not touching the floor which made him feel ridiculous, but something deep in his heart told him that he needed to hear this.

"I could have been more careful," he said weakly, knowing it was an excuse.

"Perhaps," Dumbledore said. "But you don't know that. Susan is strong than you think, so are the children. They will remember you but they will celebrate your life with them and the lessons you taught them with joy. You may be gone to them my boy…but you aren't forgotten."

To his embarrassment there was a slight stinging around the corner of his eyes and Jace blinked furiously, cursing the dust in the room.

"Are they alright?" he asked finally.

"They are," Dumbledore said calmly. "And now you can stop fighting against trying to be two things at once."  
Jace frowned. "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore chuckled before sipping at his tea again. "You're a falcon my boy, but you're also a lion. Intelligent and brave are some of the best qualities with which to describe you and they represent both of those things. Don't think you need to leave one life behind for the sake of another. Take them both with you, because when you do that is when you will truly be a whole person. Let go, but don't forget. You're Neville Longbottom and you are Jasper Arryn. Use the tools you learned when you were Neville…because you're not finished fighting wars my boy."

At the somewhat ominous expression Jace looked up at his former headmaster in alarm. "What on earth are you talking about? What war?"  
"There's a stirring in the deep waters my boy, there is something in the wind. You may not feel it now…but you will. And you need to be ready for when it comes."

This was not what Jace wanted to hear. "I've already fought in one war, I destroyed one of Voldemort's horcruxes. I nearly lost everyone I loved. I can't fight another war!"

"You can't? Or you think you can't?"

The question momentarily struck Jace dumb and he hated how words wouldn't seem to come in rebuttal to that.

Dumbledore seemed to take the moment to drive his point home. "And just like the last war my boy, this is one that will come to you. You need to be ready. Because you will have to fight one way or another. Do you understand?"

Jace shook his head in bewilderment. "Not really."

When Dumbledore smiled, it wasn't the typical grandfatherly smile that he remembered. This one had a grim realism to it and there was promise in it as well. "Perhaps you will not now. But when the time comes, just like all the other times you have answered those doubting questions…you will know."

Just then he waved his hand and before Jace's blinking eyes his robes suddenly transformed into a strange sort of armor. It was a dull silver that seemed to have a sort of ethereal glow. His long white hair had been tied back into a neat braid at the nape of his neck and he appeared as if he were prepared for war.

Jace opened his mouth to ask another question when suddenly there was a flash of silver and something appeared in Dumbledore's hand.

He frowned and peered closer at it and then realized with a jolt what it was. "Is that – "

"A symbol of bravery for all of those who have belonged to House Gryffindor at some point or another and is brought to those who have the most need of it? It is indeed. And it shall be yours for the foreseeable future."

Without another word, his former headmaster flipped the sword around in a rather agile manner and handed it to Jace by its hilt.

Slowly, almost reverently, the small blonde took hold of it. Oddly enough it didn't feel heavy in his child like hands and as he raised the sword it seemed to lengthen into a real broadsword characteristic of the ones he had seen Ned use when he and Robert were training in the Eyrie.

The flat of the blade which bore the markings of Godric Gryffindor seemed to shine in the light and the rubies in the hilt of the sword glowed. The hilt and crossguard grew larger and Jace knew this would be the perfect sword for when he had more practice and became a real swordsman.

As he stared at the sword in awe, Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke again. "You were the last person to use it well my boy. Use it again well now. You will need to."

And then there was an intense howling wind whistling past Jace's ears and the fire went out. He glanced up in the seat and noted with surprise that Dumbledore was gone and he was alone in the cold office of the headmaster.

"Wait!" he shouted but didn't know what else to ask.

Just when he began to wonder how on earth he was going to get back there was a sudden familiar screech and what felt like a brush of feathers against his face. The world turned upside down again and when he opened his eyes he was once more leaning against the large trunk of the heart tree his hand pressed flat against the side of the face carved into it.

Slowly, Jace took his hands away and noted how they were trembling before taking a deep breath, feeling both drained, emotional and confused.

It wasn't until he looked downward and saw a flash of silver beneath his feet that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it had all been real.

Bending slowly, he almost reverntly picked up the sword that was lying at the base of the heart tree and turned it over and over in his hands.

After standing there for what seemed like an hour, he was able to cast a weightless charm on the sword which was now much heavier than it had been in the vision so he might take it back to the Eyrie.

It was then that he looked up into the face of the weirwood tree and he could have sworn that its eyes were now closed, as if it had done its job and would now return to slumber.

"I won't forget," he said softly.

Before he made to apparate back, he put his hand in his pocket and felt something small and hard and flat lying within.

Jace didn't even have to look to know they were weirwood seeds.

Ω

 **My apologies for the delay on this one. I was having a bit of writer's block, but thankfully it has now passed. I wish to inform you my dear readers that the next chapter will be Jace/Neville's last one as a child and the next will feature his growing up process. I thought it rather appropriate that he should have the sword of Gryffindor as he used it to great effect in the war against Voldemort. In my opinion Neville is an underrated character that is highly deserving of it. Anyway, that's all for now. Don't forget to review this chapter and happy reading everyone!**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was the sound of birds that originally awakened Jace the following morning.  
He groggily opened one eye and looked about his chambers, feeling more weak and tired than he had ever had in his short life.

 _Gods above, if I knew weirwood magic was so strong I would have had thought about touching that damned tree,_ he thought to himself and then groaned when his muscles complained upon his failed attempt to get up.

The small blonde looked about the room once he had gotten his bearings and proceeded to let out an enormous yawn. Everything seemed to be in order and as he had bolted and then warded the door upon his return to the Eyrie, no one had entered either.

He had also taken the liberty of burying the sword of Gryffindor deep in the chest at the foot of his bed and covering it over with anything else he could think of, empty inkpots, old papers, several garments as it were. No one was to know he had that sword until he was able to figure out what having it all meant.

 _You're not done fighting wars my boy…._

He thought of Dumbledore's words and shivered as a chill seemed to sweep through the room.

A small part of thirty year old Neville was tempted to dismiss it all as a hallucination, but the presence of the sword was something he wouldn't have been able to explain away and so he was forced to accept it as the truth.

And now he had to wonder about what it all meant.

A war? What war? He was done fighting wars for gods sake. As far as he was concerned, life had been supposed to have been blessedly boring and mundane from the conclusion of the wizarding war onward.

But then he had been dumped in a medieval world where he was apparently going to be the lord of a place called the Vale and his father was second most powerful man in the country.

As Neville, he had never done well with power. He had shied away from the spotlight and only ever done his duty when it came right down to it.

He hadn't wanted to be in a position of power leading Dumbledore's army in his final year of school but he had stepped up because Harry needed someone to lead and the younger students needed someone who wasn't going to instill fear in them the way that the Carrows did.

He had been the one to stand up to Voldemort right before the last battle and cut the head off his final horcrux.

He had been the last one to use the sword of Gryffindor in combat he thought and so it was somewhat ironic that he had it now.

 _What could possibly be coming that I would need this for?_ He wondered grimly to himself. _What war could the professor possibly be talking about?_

Jace sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. He knew there was no way he could tell his father about his vision, at least not yet.

How on earth would he explain Dumbledore or the sword for that matter?

He needed to think first.

No….check that, he needed to get some sleep. Already he could feel his eyes beginning to droop as the after effects of his adrenaline rush from seeing Dumbledore wore off.

 _You can deal with this in the morning Arryn. Right now you're about to drop and you need to get to work on those seeds so you can start planting them. The sooner the better too. You also need to plan when would be a good time to go and see your father. You don't know what the red keep looks like so you're going to need to ask Aegon to describe it so you can apparate there. You have a lot to do and wondering about the appearance of a sword from your past life in not part of it right now. So lie down and go to sleep!_

Feeling properly chastised by himself, Jace hurriedly changed his clothes and did just that. But he kept the window open the entire time so that the moonlight might shine into his chambers and upon his face.

Somehow he always felt comforted when he felt that silvery light upon him. Maybe it was because this moon was similar to the one he seen in England. Or perhaps this was because there were some plants that always grew better at night and he would sneak out to his greenhouse at times to watch them grow.

He was going to think on the mystery of the sword and what Dumbledore meant later. For now he had to plant the weirwood seeds and get to the capital to speak to his father and see whether or not he knew there was a weirwood forest beneath the Giant's Lance.

Because if he didn't….then things had become a lot more complicated.

There was no sound behind his door and so Jace was able to assume that no one else was up.

He rolled out of bed, shaking off the fatigue that was still clinging to him like a mist and opened up the drawer where he had dumped the weirwood seeds and set the down on his bed before pulling the wooden nub that was hanging on a chain around his neck out from the collar of his tunic.

He had collapsed his wand as it had appeared with him in this new world and hung the resulting nub on a chain around his neck.

It was this that Jace pulled forth and then enlarged so he could begin to carve the necessary runes into the suface of the seeds.

The small blonde took the first seed in hand and tapped it before whispering "engorgio."

Immediately the seed swelled to a flat disk about the size of Jace's hand and perfectly round.  
He nodded sharply and then began carving the rune into the surface of the seed.

It was a painstaking process and silver light emerged from the tip of Jace's wand as the markings appeared in the seed.

It took about three minutes to carve the rune into each seed and by the time he finished the process with all of them, his back was sore and his neck was aching, but he felt satisfied and for rigth now that was enough.

 _What I would give for a pepper up potion,_ he thought to himself as he slipped on his cloak and dashed down the halls of the Eyrie as quietly as he could.

Thankfully no one was awake at this ungodly early hour as the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon.

When he was finished in the godswood, Jace would return to the high hall to watch the sunrise from the tall windows as he often did.

And then….well then he needed to find Nestor and discuss the future of the Vale. There were far too many things that needed to be done and if Dumbledore was right and a war was coming, well then they needed to be prepared.

When he was finished with the steward, Jace would go to the capital to see his father and inform him of the forest of heart trees he had discovered beneath the Giant's Lance.

Something of that magnitude could not have gone unnoticed for hundreds of years since the Andals had invaded…..could it?

He shook his head to clear it and a moment later, found himself pushing open the door of one of the towers and entering the grassy godswood.

Other than the few statues and benches located in the tall grass, the place was utterly silent prompting a small smile out of Jace.

As Neville, he had never liked working with other people around and seeing as how the only person who knew of his magic was hundreds of miles away, he definitely didn't want anyone to see what he was about to do.

But if it made Rhaenys happy…well than maybe it was worth it.

He immediately set about digging small holes in strategic places around the godswood so that the trees when they sprouted would be equal distance apart from each other

Strangely enough he had been given twelve seeds which would fit the godswood comfortably without making the space seem to cramped.

Once he was finished, Jace stood back feeling oddly pleased with himself. _Perhaps in time a pool could also be dug here like the one they have in Winterfell. Uncle Ned's told me all about it when he was here with father. I hope someday I'll be able to go north and see it._

The trees wouldn't start to sprout for some time but he hoped the rune he had carved into the surface of each seed would begin to magically enrich the soil so the roots would grow strong and take hold of the earth.

The sun was now halfway over the horizon at this time and so the small blonde hurried back into the high hall and to his chambers where he bathed and changed his clothes all in the span of a few minutes.

Sometimes having magic was very convenient.

Once this was complete and he was in pale blue Arryn colors once more in dark trousers and a sky colored tunic, the small blonde hurried back down to the High Hall where he would watch the sunrise.

Upon coming into the room however, he caught sight of the weirwood chair…the ancient seat of House Arryn and paused.

 _I'll sit on that seat one day,_ he thought to himself, slowly walking closer to it. _But the question is….will I be good enough to._

He sighed and walked up to it, taking in the rough-hewn edges of the white weirwood chair and the knots in the wood.

And then, just for a moment he decided he would indulge himself.

Looking quickly around, Jace hoisted himself into the chair, cursing his short arms and legs that he would need to wait to grow longer.

 _Going through puberty again is going to be bloody annoying. Thank merlin it won't be as awkward as it was when I was Neville. At least this time I'll have some idea of what to expect._

He sat himself back in the chair and looked around the high hall, imagining that this was what his father saw when he sat in judgement on this chair.

He hadn't had to do it very often and the last time Jace had seen his father hold a court of sorts in this chair had been when he was two years old and had evaded his mother for the umpteenth time.

Robert had been there and smirked upon seeing the tiny blonde sneak into the room and hide behind his legs.

Instead of shading him however, he had picked Jace up and sat him on his shoulders so he could see.

Robert was enormous and so Jace was sitting a head taller than anyone else in the room.

The person who had been executed had been a member of one of the Mountain Clans of the Vale who had led a small party in attacking a town near the Fingers.

And even at two years of age, Jace had wondered to himself why on earth his father hadn't simply found land in the Vale to give to the Mountain Clans and revive some of the older houses that had refused to bend the knee to Artys Arryn.

He would end the feud between the Andals and the First Men of the Vale and perhaps be on his way to greater cooperation between the past and the future.

Plus he would be the first Vale Lord that would have established peace where there had long been enmity.

Jace was amazed that his father hadn't seen this. But when he had brought it up a few months before he had rode off to war, Jon had simply said it wasn't as easy as Jace thought it was and when he was older he would explain it all.

 _Merlin, I'm far older than he thinks I am,_ Jace thought to himself in amused disbelief as he sat in the chair and swung his short legs back and forth. _I think I can understand it a lot better than most._

He was just considering the merits of sliding down from the chair and calling for some bacon, toast and porridge when all of a sudden there was the sound of the door at the end of the hall opening.

Jace looked up in surprise to see someone up so early and then was further shocked to see the person that was standing on the threshold of the high hall was Rhaenys Targaryen herself.  
He blinked but got over his surprise quickly enough. "Good morning my lady. You're up early."

Rhaenys shrugged but gave him a small smile. Her long dark hair was mused but her violet eyes were bright and alert. "Mother told me that you often get up this early Jace. She said you like to watch the sunrise. May I watch it with you?"

Jace blinked once…twice…

How on earth did Elia know his whereabouts this early in the morning? He got up to watch the sunrise almost every day. The princess must have been awake more than once this early in order to know that this was his usual activity.

The small blonde made a mental note not to underestimate her observances ever again.

"Of course," he replied and slid down from the weirwood throne. "I usually watch it from one of the windows. Come with me."

He led her over to the window nearest the throne which was located on the east side of the. It was a tall one and almost reached from floor to ceiling. The sun was just beginning to crest over the tops of the mountains when they got there and the entire sky was lit up with red and gold and periwinkle blue colors. There were now clouds in the sky and the azure blue was shot through with rays of gold, painting an absolutely breathtaking picture.

"It's so pretty," Rhaenys whispered. "We don't get to see the sun like this before."

Jace nodded. "The Vale may be cold at times but I think it has some of the best views in all of the Seven Kingdoms."  
Rhaenys cracked a small smile which caused Jace to do so as well before she turned back to him.  
"Do you think we can go riding again today? Uncle Lewyn says I'm getting much better on Nymeria."

Jace raised an eyebrow at her. "Nymeria? You named her?"

To his surprise Rhaenys' answering smile looked curiously like the smirk of her Uncle Oberyn. "Mother says she was the greatest queen to ever come to Westeros, except perhaps the queen I was named after."

Jace snorted slightly. He had heard some stories of the Warrior Queen Nymeria and her Rhoynish followers who had joined with Mors Martell to subjugate the rest of Dorne, but his knowledge on her was limited.

"Well then perhaps we can go riding," he said. "And maybe this time we can even go out of the Eyrie and down the High Road."

Rhaenys eyes lit up. "Really?"

Jace smiled. "Really."

He was astonished then to find her arms about his neck as she threw herself at him. "Thank you Jace, thank you!"

He was stiff and shocked at first, before he melted slightly and hugged her back.

A moment later, Rhaenys seemed to realize what she had done as she pulled back, her cheeks bright red.

So for that matter were Jace's. He searched desperately for a topic to change the conversation to and was then rewarded and further embarrassed when his stomach growled.

Rhaenys giggled and he flushed a deep crimson before clearing his throat. "I think its time for some breakfast."

"That sounds good," the brunette replied. "I'm hungry."

"Then shall we call for something?" asked an amused voice and Jace started again to see Nestor Royce and Lewyn Martell walk into the room side by side.

Surprisingly enough, the two men had gotten along rather well since the latter had come to the Eyrie.

Lewyn was especially interested in the geography of the Vale. It was far different than any of the other territories of Westeros and the rocky territory would prove to be a hell of a detriment to any invading army.

Perhaps that was why barring Visenya Targaryen, the Vale had never been invaded. Its natural defenses were just too great.

And speaking of defenses, Jace just decided that he was going to pretend the hug from Rhaenys had never happened.

He hoped to merlin that Nestor hadn't seen it.

Jace turned to Rhaenys and offered her his hand, ignoring the smirk of her great uncle and led her over to the table where he did his best to pull out the chair for her, cursing his short arms and legs.

Thankfully he managed it reasonably well and then pulled out his own chair before sitting down next to her.

"I wonder where Ser Jaime is," Rhaenys said absently. "I see him so little these days."

Jace was wondering that himself. He had seen enough of Jaime Lannister in the last few weeks to know that the man was madly in love with Elia Martell but so far hadn't done anything to capitalize on it.

As far as he was concerned, the knight should do something before some other lord of the Vale came along and decided that they fancied the only Martell daughter for a wife.

He didn't think that was going to happen though. Elia was seen as a liability to other lords. He doubted that anyone would offer to marry her as it might be seen as treason by Robert.

 _Lannister might as well get a move on and try to be happy,_ Jace thought to himself as the food was brought out. _Plus if he does marry Princess Elia, it will twist the knife into Tywin Lannister even further. Especially because Ser Jaime would not be returning to the Rock any time soon before this._

"I hope the weather is good today," Rhaenys piped up before turning to her great uncle. "Uncle Lewyn?"  
"Yes sweetling?" the Dornish prince replied, turning away from the conversation where he had been talking to Nestor.

"Can we go riding today? And can we go outside of the Eyrie and down the High Road? It's so pretty out there and we never go outside!"

She sounded like her brother for a moment and Jace hid his smile behind a spoonful of steaming porridge.  
Lewyn exchanged a look with Nestor who chuckled slightly. "I think that might be a good idea. You're going to be Lady of the Eyrie and the Vale one day Rhaenys, it would be good for you to see more of it than just the keep."

He said the words with his eyes on Jace, and the small blonde looked down at his toast, cheeks going slightly red.

The words had been said warmly however and heir to the Vale had a feeling that the Dornish loved to laugh and tease. It would simply be something he was going to need to become used to over the next few years.

He did have a tendency to by shy and too stiff and times and Susan had accused him of having a stick up his arse at times.

Then she had laughed and kissed him at the face he had made and told him that he would need to cease acting like a statue saying words if he was ever going to enjoy life.

He grimaced at the memory of her and swallowed down the sorrow that caused an unexpected lump in his throat.

 _Enough of that now,_ he thought to himself. _She's gone, but she safe and so are the children. You made a decision a while ago to let go and live life, you can do that now can't you?_

The question went unanswered as he picked through his porridge while Rhaenys continued to chatter happily to her great uncle.  
This was the happiest Jace had ever seen her and it made him smile. He couldn't wait to see her reaction about the sprouting of the weirwood trees.  
And then that reminded him of something.

"Nestor?" he asked speaking up over the hum of Rhaenys and Lewyn conversing.

"Yes my lord?" the steward responded. He had been looking over some letter no doubt from Lord Arryn and looked up at the young heir's call.  
"There was something I wanted to ask you," Jace went on, faintly aware that Rhaenys and Lewyn had ceased their conversation and were looking at him. "Where the Mountain Clans usually make their dwelling place?"

Nestor stiffened slightly and narrowed his eyes at his young charge. The look of sharp interest on Lewyn's face intensified and he leaned forward, resting his fist on one hand as he watched the small blonde.

"Why would you want to know about them my lord?" Nestor asked.

Jace knew he needed to be careful here as the Royce line was some of the oldest of First Men who had bent the knee to Artys Arryn and had been allowed to retain their seat of Runestone instead of being sent into exile like those who had refused.

Despite the fact that House Arryn and House Royce had been bound through marriage in the past, one was still Andal and the other was still First Men.

"I'm just curious Nestor," he replied. "Do you know?"

Nestor Royce looked put on the spot for a moment as the young heir had never asked him about the Mountain Clans before.

"The Snakewoods but also north and west of Coldwater is a place where they often dwell he said carefully and Jace nodded thoughtfully. "Do you they often make their homes there?"

Nestor's eyes narrowed. "I suppose so."

Jace nodded, his mind going a mile a minute. "Would you happen to know if there are any inhabited or uninhabited keeps around that area Nestor?"

"There are some Lord Jasper," Nestor replied again, obviously wondering where on earth the small blonde was going with this.

"Do you think you could compile a list of those keeps for me Nestor?" Jace asked as the ideas came pouring into his mind. "I'd like to have a look at them."

There was a breath of silence while the three other inhabitants in the high hall stared at him in shock. Well Rhaenys appeared to be slightly more confused than the other two men but both Lewyn and Nestor appeared somewhat surprised.

Finally the steward seemed to get a hold of himself and nodded. "Of course my lord. I will have that for you by the end of the day."

Jace nodded. "Thank you Nestor.

"Are you planning to be the first Arryn to mend the rift with the Mountain Clans Lord Jasper?" Lewyn asked good naturedly and Jace simply smiled at him. "Just planning for the future my lord."  
"Who is planning for the future?" Prince Oberyn asked as he walked into the high hall with Princess Elia and Ser Jaime and Aegon behind him.

As soon as Rhaenys saw her brother she hopped down from her chair and hurried over to him. "Aegon! Uncle Lewyn says we can go riding today outside the Eyrie. Maybe we can go down the High Road, past the Bloody Gate and see the Mountains of the Moon!"  
"Really?" Aegon asked.

He was already attired in Arryn blue which was somewhat funny to see. In fact Jace had never seen him in Targaryen colors before this.

"I don't know," Elia said casting a look at her uncle. "The children are only four years old and just learning to ride. "Will it be safe Lewyn?"

"I will accompany them your grace if you prefer," Ser Jaime said quietly. "And we can tie the children's ponies with ropes to our own horses. If Prince Oberyn comes along one child can be tied to one horse each."

"A capital idea," Oberyn declared throwing his arm about the shoulders of the younger knight and looking at the princess. "What say you sister?"

Elia looked back and forth between her brother and the knight. When her eyes finally rested on Ser Jaime, they softened slightly and she reached out and squeezed his hands.

"If you're are going Jaime then I have no concerns," she said.

Jace was somewhat amused to see the cheeks of the young knight turn slightly crimson before looked down and busied himself with his bacon.

Yes indeed, his hunch was spot on about those two. _I'll give it a year before they're married. Prince Oberyn already seems to like him especially for how he helped them escape. It seems there are green lights all around._

"Please mother?" Aegon asked looking up at the stunning brunette. "Can we go? We'll be careful."

"Oh….very well," Elia said. "But only as long as your two uncles and Ser Jaime accompany you."

Rhaenys squealed and clapped her hands before jumping up and down slightly. "I need to go and find something to wear for riding!"

To the amusement of all gathered she lifted her skirts and hurried out of the room as fast as she could go while still appearing the proper lady.

Aegon rolled his eyes in amusement and pulled himself into the chair on Jace's opposite side.

"Sometimes I think she's crazy," he muttered before helping himself to some porridge.

Jace almost choked on his bacon and coughed before taking a sip of water. "She's a girl. Most are crazy."

Aegon snorted. "Yeah but my sister's the craziest."

"Well seeing as how I don't have any sisters yet…I wouldn't know."

Aegon fixed his friend with as serious a look as Jace had ever seen. "Pray you never have them."

Ω

A few hours later saw the three young children with their three guides atop their ponies which were in turn tied to that of their guides.

Nestor had wanted to send some of the Vale soldiers with them but Oberyn had posited that they weren't going far and would not be gone long.

Nestor has looked displeased until Jace had quietly told him that he was sure it would be alright.

And so there they were atop their ponies. Both Aegon and Rhaenys had given their mounts Targaryen names to the amusement of Jace and the chagrin of Nestor and the other members of the Eyrie.

Aegon had named his pony Sunfyre and Rhaenys had named hers after the ancestral Targaryen dragon of her namesake Meraxes. Jace had just decided to be simple and name his pony griffin.

Perhaps he was also subtly honoring his past as well in Gryffindor House.

His pony was tied to Ser Jaime's mount while Rhaenys was tied to Lewyn's and Aegon's to Oberyn.

And because he couldn't talk the young lord into sending a mounted force with him, Nestor would not budge on sending a guide along the way as the two Martells didn't know the Vale well.

Jace had agreed to that.

He knew Nestor was unhappy with the lack of guards going with them in case something were to happen as he was the Vale's only heir but Jace knew what his father's steward didn't.

If worse came to worse, he would use his magic which was always a failsafe in case the worst came to pass.

But nothing was really going to happen on a sunny day on the high road of the Eyrie where they weren't planning on leaving the path.

Right?

Right.

Famous last words as always.

After bidding a farewell to Princess Elia and Nestor, the former of whom was straightening the collar of her son's cloak for what seemed like the hundredth time as he squirmed away from her and twisted it back, Lewyn cleared his throat and suggested that perhaps now would be a good time to commence with their journey.

Jace hid a brief smirk as they passed through the gates of the Eyrie and descended slowly down the High Road.

The feet of the ponies were steady and sure on the rocky ground and Jace made a mental note to thank the stable master for picking such good mounts for the three of them to practice on.

It was a crisp cool day and though the sky was a pale grey, Jace wondered if they might get a bit of snow blowing down from the mountains of the moon to the west.

 _I wonder if Rhaenys and Aegon have ever even seen snow,_ he wondered to himself as the horses walked along. _They've lived in the capital all of their short lives thus far and the Eyrie is much colder than what they are used to. If we do get snow, this will probably be their firs time seeing it._

He hoped they would get it soon, he loved snow and winter.

Plus he had also placed a ward around the seeds he had planted in the godswood to ward off frost and to ensure that the grey even in winter.

As they decsended down the road, Jace was amused to see a curious pattern developing between the brother and sister.

While Aegon was excitedly pointing out everything he saw to his uncle from the puffy clouds to the mountains in the distance, to the Bloody Gate, Rhaenys was a silent passenger atop her mount tied to her great uncle's simply taking everything in and considering it all.

By this point, Jace knew she had a wicked sense of humor and was never someone who liked to lose, but she was also calculating.

She could be fiery when necessary and exuberant when she wanted to be but she used such spontaneity sparingly which made her very interesting to Jace.  
In some ways it reminded him of Susan. Merlin she had been fiery like no one else knew but it had been necessary being the head of the DMLE but when she had been with their children she was surprisingly gentle.

He wondered if Rhaenys would be the same way when she grew older.

Then he sighed and shook off the thoughts like he were shaking off lint from his cloak. There was no time for that right now.

He glanced at Ser Jaime who appeared to be lost in thought who was riding next to him and smiled slightly, an idea coming to him.

"You ought to tell her you know."

The other blonde started as if he had been awakened from a dream and looked down at the heir to the Vale. "I beg your pardon Lord Jasper?"

The small boy smirked. "Princess Elia. You ought to tell her."

The knight frowned. "Tell the princess what?"

Jace's smiled widened. "I think you know Ser Jaime. You've got all the time in the world to do it because I don't think you're going back to Casterly Rock any time soon. You obviously want to be here and don't say that it is because you have a duty to the royal family because your vows died with King Aerys. As such the princess obviously seems to have your trust and you have hers. She is no longer married and you no longer have the worry of someone arranging a marriage for you. So I ask…what the bloody hell are you waiting for?"

Jaime just stared at him as if he had never expected such words to come out of a four year old's mouth.

"Pardon?" he finally asked, his voice having lowered exponentially and become somewhat squeaky.

Jace barely managed to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. _Good lord was I this hesitant to tell Susan that I loved her? It's a wonder she didn't leave me for someone else while I was dallying about worrying._

"You heard me," he said to Jaime realizing he was being somewhat blunt here. "She obviously loves you and it is quite easy to tell that you love her. I don't know what you're waiting on. There's no one here to disapprove and given how you helped rescue the princess and the twins from the capital I don't think Prince Oberyn would try to dissuade you nor for that matter would Prince Doran despite the fact that I have never met him. You're just wasting your time waiting. What on earth have you got to lose?"

It was rather amusing to watch Jaime's mouth open and close like a fish for a few moments. Jace could tell that no one had ever gone so deep on such a topic with him much less a child who talked like an adult.

"It's," he began and then swallowed hard, eyes wide as if he couldn't believe he was having this conversation with a four year old. "It's complicated."

Jace snorted. "Hardly. "You love her, she loves you…what on earth is complicated about that?"

Now Jaime looked like a deer trapped in the head lights of an oncoming vehicle.

"How," he managed. "How on earth do you know this?"

This time Jace really did laugh. But it was more so because Jaime was reminding him of how he was when he was dating Susan. He had been such an insecure shy fool when he was around her that it had been mind boggling to him that she actually loved him.

For some reason, Jace wondered if the reason Jaime was hesitating was because he didn't actually believe that Princess Elia cared for him.

So he decided to take pity on the young knight who he saw a little bit of himself in.

Merlin that felt odd to say given the fact that he was currently four bloody years old.

"Why is it that adults think they are more subtle than they actually are?" he asked more to himself than to the knight. "Ser Jaime anyone with eyes could see that Princess Elia loves you and vice versa. And the fact that you are wasting time in admitting that to her is not going to endear you to her or to her family. There's nothing holding you back other than what is in your head. So if I were you, I would stop thinking and start acting. Because for the love of the gods life is too short to be fretting over nonsensical things like this."

He cleared his throat and lowered his voice as it had been slightly passionate and had caused Aegon to look over his shoulder atop his pony at him as they continued to descend the High Road.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

Jace waved at him. "Fine."

He turned back to the knight who was looking somewhat pale and felt a modicum of sympathy for him.

After a moment the older blonde began to chuckle. "I had heard from Lord Arryn that you were something of a prodigy Lord Jasper but I wasn't sure I believed him until you just spoke as you did."

Jace smiled slightly. "You are taking the knowledge of it far better than he did. I believe he almost fainted when I read an entire passage of dialogue on the Targaryen invasion when I was two."

Jaime blinked and then threw back his head and laughed again. "I think I can imagine the look on his face exactly."

Jace smiled thinking to himself that he and Jaime would get along very nicely once he finally got his head out of his arse with regards to the princess and admitted to loving her and made his place in the Vale more permanent.

It was only a matter of time after all.

"Uncle look at the birds!" Rhaenys suddenly cried out and Jace's head snapped to the skies looking to see a trio of falcons coasting high in the morning air. They were large creatures who weren't flapping their wings but merely using the wind to coast and balance themselves as the road atop it.

"Aren't they pretty?" Rhaenys said in an almost dreamy tone of voice.

"Yes sweetling, very pretty," Lewyn replied in an almost indulgent tone.

"Where are they going?" she wondered aloud and Jace smiled. "They're going back to their nests Rhae. Some of them have nests atop the highest peaks of the Mountains of the Moon and they're bringing food back to their chicks before night falls."

"I'd love to go up there," Rhaenys said somewhat dreamily looking up at the mountains with a wistful expression on her face. "I think I might feel as if I could fly if I went up there."

"It's also bloody cold up there sweetling," Oberyn responded to her. "I'd freeze my balls off before I got halfway up."

Jace nearly choked laughing and decided to test his daring. "Then I wouldn't suggest going to the north Prince Oberyn."

The Dornish prince cast an eye over his shoulder at the small blonde as if he was assessing him for a moment before actually giving him a smirking smile that seemed genuine enough for him. "Duly noted Lord Jasper."

When they finally reached the bottom of the High Road, Jace looked back at the Eyrie high above them and was struck by how much it looked like a bird's nest from this position.

The sun was shining brilliantly in the sky and the clouds that were stealing across the surface of it were being blown before a strong wind. It was so strong in fact that Jace could literally see the clouds moving at the speed that he had never seen before.

He breathed deeply of the fresh air and closed his eyes for a moment. The Vale really was a wonderful place.

He felt like he could breathe here, tucked away from all of the chaos that surrounded the world outside of the mountains. It was a hiding place for him when he had awakened in this world and all but drowned in his own sorrow. It was peace when he was feeling restless and it was power when he needed to feel small in light of the true might of nature.

It was home.

He smiled slightly to himself and then glanced over the edge into the valley below which was covered with its usual mist. He would never be able to see the forest of heart trees down there, but he could imagine them.

They would stretch as far as the eye could see and he felt a strange tug to go down there again, as if he was needed in that area somehow.

After a moment he brushed it off…another time.

Jace could see that it was going to take some time for Rhaenys and Aegon to become accustomed to the cool weather as they had grown up in the capital which was deep to the south of Westeros.

Aegon was doing his best not to look like he was shivering and every so often, Rhaenys' teeth would chatter.

Taking pity on his friends, Jace cast silent warming charms on both of them and watched with a smile when their shoulders lowered and both breathed quiet sighs of relief.

"There aren't a lot of animals up here are there Jace?" Rhaenys asked and the heir to the Vale shook his head. "We don't normally see anything other than birds here. The falcons are known to keep their nests high in the Mountains of the Moon and the mountain goats don't often venture this far down."

"What about the bears and wolves?" Aegon asked eagerly and Jace laughed.

"I've never seen a bear in these mountains and the wolves I've only seen from a distance. They avoid the high road though. I think its because they know humans like to travel on it. Contrary to popular belief, wolves don't often think of humans as prey, its only if they're extremely hungry and desperate that they will attack a rider."

Oberyn was giving the small blonde an odd look and Jace decided to keep silent for the time being on that at least.

Just then there was a high cry overhead.

The party of six looked up and Rhaenys gave a cry of delight when all of a sudden from out of the heavens swooped an enormous falcon.

It was twice the size of any of the birds Jace had ever seen before and even though a few falcons were kept in the Eyrie for hunting, they were not so large as this one.

The falcon swooped lower and Jace was astonished to see that it was completely white. He had never seen a white falcon before. His wingspan was so wide that he wondered if it was as long as his arm and as it coasted on the morning winds, not even moving its feathers, Jace wondered what it would be like to fly.

He had never been good on a broom and after his experience in first year with Draco Malfoy and the remembrall, he had given up on the idea of playing Quidditch for good. That didn't mean that he wouldn't go and cheer on his team however.

But now seeing this majestic bird sweeping even lower above them, Jace wondered what it would be like to soar in the heavens too.

And then to further his surprise, the falcon swept lower into a dive and landed right on his shoulder.

Jace nearly started violently before controlling himself so he wouldn't startle the creature. As it was Jaime emitted a sharp intake of breath and almost drew his horse which was tethered to Jace's back.

Amazingly enough, the falcon didn't weigh a lot and Jace wondered why for how large a creature it was.

"Well hello there," he said quietly once he had gotten over his surprise. "You're a pretty thing aren't you?"

The falcon made no sound but to cock its head at Jace as if wondering what sort of creature he was.

Jace blinked when he locked eyes with the bird as the orbs embedded in that strangely wise face were bright blue.

And then Prince Lewyn made a connection that the blonde had not seen. "Why the bird is the colors of House Arryn."

Jace started and then let out a breathless laugh. "Why yes it is. How foolish of me to not have noticed. But how is that possible."

"Signs and portents," Oberyn muttered. "This whole bloody year has been one of signs and portents."

And Jace could certainly agree.

He gazed up at the face of the bird and almost fell off his horse when a feeling of familiarity swept through him the like of which he had only felt from one such creature.

And he had seen it in his dreams.

 _Fawkes?_ He wondered in astonishment. _Is that you?_

The falcon bobbed his head in a curious manner as if he were responding to a question and Jace felt goosebumps rise on the back of his arms.

How thin did the world between his old one and his new one have to be in order for this welcome reminder to slip through?

And why was he different colors?

 _He's obviously here for you idiot,_ Said a voice that sounded suspiciously like Susan's in his mind. _Why else would he be here and in the Arryn colors to boot?_

Another chill crept up Jace's back at the two reminders from his old life that had come in the last twenty four hours.

What was in the works that he would need both the sword of Gryffindor and Fawkes the phoenix?

He didn't want to know.

But it was obvious that Fawkes wasn't going to be going anywhere and Jace didn't want him to at this point.

 _Alright then,_ he thought looking up at the cloudy heavens. _You've made your point. I'll start preparing for whatever war you think is coming._

"Well as eventful as this has been," Oberyn broke in with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Suppose we continue on with our journey before my balls freeze to my saddle?"

"Eloquent as always nephew," Lewyn said dryly. "But very well, shall we go on?"

As they moved the horses forward on their journey, Jace could see a faint smile on Jaime's face and took it to mean that he liked the easy banter between the Martell men.

So did he come to think of it.

 _If they're going to be here for the term of my natural life in this world, I don't suppose I could do better than having all of these Martells around me. They're loyal to a fault for one and they certainly liven up the place. I didn't realize how lonely I was until Aegon and Rhaenys got here._

They continued on their journey but it wasn't until the clouds began to roll in and the wind promised snow that Jaime raised the idea of turning back.

But just as they moved to do so, there came the sound of a low growl on either side of them and the hairs on the back of Jace's neck stood on end.

He glanced to his right and to his left and was shocked to see emerging from the rocks on both sides of the path, were at least a dozen large looking wolves.

They did not appear to be dire wolves which he had only read about in the Eyrie's library but they looked formidable opponents all the same.

Oberyn cursed under his breath and drew his sword and Jaime and Lewyn did the same.

Rhaenys' eyes were wide as she looked around and Aegon looked as grim as Jace had ever seen him.

"What was what you were saying about not seeing a lot of wolves in these parts Lord Jasper?" Jaime whispered.

Jace swallowed hard and bit back a curse. "Consider me corrected Ser Jaime."

It appeared as if the wolves were in the process of setting a trap because just as Lewyn urged their horses back there was another growl from behind them and Jace turned to see another line of wolves emerging from the rocks on either side of the road to block their retreat.

He cursed again when he realized that they were in a narrow cleft of the path were the rocks helped to bottlneck the path allowing for only one way in and one way out.

Essentially they were trapped.

Jace glanced at Fawkes on his shoulder and physically felt the bird tense and knew it was preparing itself for an attack.

He could feel the magic radiating from the bird and realized with a start that magic might be the only way they were going to get out of this alive.

The blonde felt his Gryffindor resolve harden within him.

 _It's a little bit early to show my hand,_ he thought grimly to himself as his eyes darted between the wolves that were edging them in on either side. _But it doesn't look like I have a choice. Well then…let the games begin._

Ω

 **You guys should know I'm the queen of cliff hangers by now right? Haha, don't worry nothing's going to happen to our heroes. The next chapter will see the conclusion of this cliff hanger and then fastforward about ten years where we get to see a slightly more grown up Jace, Aegon and Rhaenys, because this is where all the fun will happen. I hope you liked the chapter, don't forget to review and happy reading everyone!**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jace looked back and forth sharply between the way they had come and the path in front of them.

Both of the ways were blocked by wolves. He wanted to curse but restrained himself as that wouldn't help him right now. Wolves weren't common to this area, so where on earth had a pack of them come from?

For a moment he regretted not bringing more men with him but then thought to himself that it was better this way. He didn't intend on any lives being lost and it would be more difficult to keep an eye on everyone if they were in a large group. Besides they had just been out for a leisurely trot and such a threat like this couldn't have been foreseen.

But that didn't matter at any rate.

Rhaenys made an uncertain sound in her throat and when Jace looked at her, he could see that her eyes had narrowed into slits, purple irises darting back and forth between the back as if she were looking for a way out.

"Everyone remain calm," Prince Lewyn called in a steady voice from the front of the small column. "We are obviously in the middle of the beast's hunting path. If we attempt a steady retreat, all should be well."

"I agree that they are hunting uncle," Oberyn said grimly. "But I rather think that we are less in their path and instead are the object of their pursuit.

"What are we going to do?" Aegon asked looking nervous.

Jace had a sudden idea then and took a deep breath. He didn't really want to do this so soon but it didn't seem as if he had a choice. He turned quickly and counted the number of wolves that were surrounding them, grimacing when he realized that there were eight.

He would need to be quick.

The wolf closest to Rhaenys' pony he would need to take out first as it was crouched on the stone path and looked ready to pounce.

"Stupefy," he muttered under his breath.

Barely a millisecond later, the wolf collapsed to the ground as if dead and there was a terrible silence.

Jace didn't wait a moment to see the damage but instead turned to the wolf that had been next to it and muttered the same spell.

There was a distinctive whine from the beast as it dropped like a stone next to its companion but otherwise no sound was made from them.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

Sensing the threat, a few of the beasts decided to move at the same time and leaped towards the horses.

"Protego," Jace hissed under his breath, and like a spotlight from on high there was a sudden dome of red light surrounding them.

Both Oberyn and Lewyn cursed at the sight of it, trying to keep their already nervous horses from rearing and throwing them.

Fortunately neither of them had seen Jace muttering under his breath….but Rhaenys had and she and Aegon gazed around them in amazement at the sight of the shield charm.

Jaime looked about wildly as if he had been woken violently from a deep slumber and cursed under his breath.

The shield charm had been timely executed as the moment it surrounded them, the three bodies of the large hairy creatures hit it in tandem causing them to bounce off and sent them flying into one of the nearby rock walls that lined the passage.

There was a decisive crunch as bones made connection with stone and Jace winced, hoping he hadn't hurt any of them. His motives had been defense and nothing else.

Sensing that they were outnumbered and realizing that they had tried to attack a larger threat than they, the rest of the pack wisely turned tail and fled, prompting Jace to release a quiet sigh of relief and muttered the charm to release the shield around them.

"What the bloody hell?" Jaime asked next to him. "How on earth….what was that?!"  
"Some force of nature?" Lewyn suggested but he too looked stunned and more than a little shaken. Oberyn for the first time simply appeared speechless.

It was with some relief that Jace realized that none of the adults had seen his tricks and decided that he would say nothing about it.

It was then that he felt the eyes of Rhaenys on him and it was with some reluctance that he turned to look at her, almost dreading what he would see.

When he did so, he found himself face to face with wide purple eyes that bore nothing but astonishment.  
And he knew then that she had seen.

He closed his eyes briefly and prayed for every ounce of luck and bravery that he possessed that his performance wouldn't do anything to stymie their growing friendship.  
He looked at her deliberately and then slowly shook his head, wordlessly asking for her silence.

Her eyes seemed to narrow even further then but after a moment she gave him a tiny nod. Aegon had gone suspiciously quiet as well and Jace risked a glance at him only to realize that the other blonde was looking back and forth between him and his sister with narrowed eyes as if he sensed there was a secret being shared.

Jace shook his head at him too.

"It seems the luck of the gods have been with us on this day," Lewyn Martell declared turning his horse sharply about. "And as such I don't think we should press it. Come we will return to the Eyrie without delay!"

Oberyn and Jaime wasted no time in hurrying after him, their larger mounts tugging the ponies of the smaller children behind them.

All the way, Jace could feel the eyes of Rhaenys and Aegon upon him and knew he had a lot of explaining to do.

Ω

Later that evening after Princess Elia had checked them for injuries at least half a dozen times and was satisfied that they were alright, Jace was sitting alone in his room looking at the sword of Gryffindor.

 _I ought to write to father about what happened today,_ he mused to himself. _He would want to know. Especially about someone else knowing about my magic. I know Rhae saw a lot and I'm not sure how much Aegon saw but I'm willing to wager that he saw enough._

He wondered how they would take the news of his magic. He had never had a muggle friend or relative that he had had to explain this to, so this part of his life was all very original to him.

Jon had impressed upon him the need for caution in this matter and if there hadn't been the danger they had faced that afternoon, Jace would have been content to wait a few more years before revealing what he could do.

There was a part of him that was somewhat relieved though. It was a burden keeping a secret this big from two people he was quickly considering his best friends and he had hoped that he wouldn't have to keep the truth from them for too long.

Rhaenys had been coming out of her shell recently and revealed that she had quite an open mind about many things. She was also quite sarcastic and fiery when the need for it came and often compelled her brother down from his flights of imagination with just a few words.

Aegon would no doubt demand to know all his friend could do and Rhaenys would ground him to a halt with a few well placed words.

 _And speak of things that are well placed, a visit to father in the capital will be well placed I think. I'd love to see what it looks like and how he is doing. I'll see if I can go within the next few days._

He glanced back at the sword of Gryffindor and ran a finger down the flat of the blade, imagining what it would be like to wield such a weapon when he was older.

It had been extremely heavy when he had held it the first time in the forest but now he wondered if by casting a feather light charm on it he could make it easier to bear.

No time like the present to find out.

After placing his hand upon the blade and whispering the words to the charm, the small blonde waited a moment before grasping the hilt of the sword and lifting it into the air.

It was still a little heavy and unbalanced and awkward but Jace figured that was because he was little and now that the sword belonged to him he would need to handle it like any other man handling a sword.

After a few minutes of lifting it up and down he was just about to lower it again when all of a sudden there was a knock on the door.

He quickly dropped the sword onto the bed and disillusioned it. "Come in!"

The door was pushed open almost tentatively and sure enough Rhaenys and Aegon appeared on the threshold.

Their expressions were cautious but there was a burning curiosity in the depths of Rhaenys' eyes that Jace knew he was going to have to satisfy.

"Can we talk to you?" she asked.

Jace nodded and beckoned them in.

Aegon shut the door behind them and then the two turned to their best friend, a myriad of warring expressions crossing their features.

After a long silence Jace couldn't stand it anymore and opened his mouth. "Will one of you say something? I think I know why you're here but I'd like to hear it from your mouths first."

Brother and sister exchanged a long look before Aegon nudged the older girl and she nodded and cleared her throat.

"What….What did you do on the road Jace? I just heard you mutter something and then the wolves fell over like they were dead! How did you do that?"

"And can you tell us how to do it?" Aegon asked eagerly.

The heir to the Vale blew out a breath suddenly feeling some relief.

"I think you know that there's a word for it," he said. "And no I can't teach you…it has to be something you're born with."

Aegon looked disappointed but Rhaenys curiosity seemed only to grow.

"It's magic isn't it?" she asked and Jace's long silence brought a triumphant expression to her face.

"I knew it," she whispered sounding a little wiser than her age.

"But how? Aegon burst out.

"Keep your voice down!" Jace hissed. "I don't want the whole Eyrie to know!"

" _Does_ anyone know?" Rhaenys pressed.

"Only my father," Jace replied. "I told him before he left and he told me not to tell anyone. But when we were cornered down there on the road…I decided maybe I didn't have a choice."

He glanced at the both of them. Aegon looked excited but not overly so and Rhaenys looked more thoughtful than anything else.

They were each taking this remarkably well. Once Hermione had told him about an encounter with one of her closest friends where she had had to tell her about her magic and she had been beyond astonished.

But the siblings, well they seemed a little too calm.

He frowned and jumped off his bed. "You don't look surprised."

Aegon glanced down at his feet a small smug little smile on his face and all of a sudden Jace felt horror steal over him. "You didn't already know did you?"

"No!" Rhaenys said. "No but….we wanted to know if your magic is like….like ours."

It took a moment for that to sink in.

Jace blinked and stared at them. "What do you mean _your magic?_ "

"Well its not really magic," Aegon said nudging his sister. "But sometimes….sometimes we have dreams."

Jace frowned. "What kind of dreams?"

"Well," Rhaenys replied, "about a year ago Aegon and I were playing in mother's chambers in the keep and he grabbed onto a cloth on the table that was underneath a candle and pulled it and the candle off onto the floor. I reached out a hand to stop it and grabbed the candle, but I grabbed it at the top where the light was. And it didn't burn me."

"And then you dropped it," Aegon prompted. "And then I grabbed it but it didn't burn me either. We told mother about it, but she said not to say anything to anyone. But we didn't know what it meant. Grandfather talked a lot about magic but mother didn't like it.

Jace's mind was spinning. "Did you ever try touching fire again?"

Rhaenys turned a guilty red but Aegon grinned giving Jace all the answer that he needed.

"When did you do it?" he asked.

"It was a week ago," Aegon said eagerly. "I was in Rhae's room and the fire was burning and I dropped one of my toys next to the fire."

"And he reached in and grabbed it without even thinking about it," Rhaenys said narrowing her eyes at the blonde.

"I wanted my toy back," Aegon protested. "But it didn't burn me and when Rhae tried it the same thing happened to her."

A thousand thoughts were going through Jace's mind but the primary one was that Targaryens had a history of magic. He was convinced it was how they had tamed their dragons and kept them almost as pets.

After the Dance a few centuries ago when most of the dragons had been killed, the remaining beasts grew smaller and smaller until there were none left and the remains had been kept in the throne room of the Red Keep until Aerys downfall.

He admitted to feeling both intrigued and confused. What did it mean?

"Did you feel anything when you put your hands in the fire?" he asked.

Aegon shook his head. "Nothing."

"Tell him what happened next," Aegon said nudging his sister.

Suddenly Rhaenys looked unsure.

"Well?" Jace asked. "What happened next?"

"I picked up some of it," Rhaenys muttered.

Jace frowned. "What do you mean you picked up some of it? You mean you picked up one of the logs on the fire?"

"No," Aegon said impatiently. "She touched the fire that was sitting atop the log…. _and she picked it up and held it in her hand!"_

"But how?" Jace asked. Even though he was a reincarnated wizard, things like being able to hold fire in bare hands was new to him.

"I don't know," the brunette said. "But then Aegon got excited and did it too."

"You both can hold fire?" the blonde asked incredulously.

Aegon nodded so hard Jace worried his head would fall off his neck. "We've been trying it ever since."

"So you mean you picked it up in your hands and held it like it was a ball?" Jace asked incredulously.

Both siblings looked at each other and nodded.

While Jace was struggling for words, Aegon nudged his sister as if there was something she had forgotten to say.

"So what can you do with your magic?" Rhaenys asked suddenly looking eager.

Jace blinked and then laughed. "Well…"

He raised a hand and muttered the word to the accio charm under his breath. One of the books sitting on his desk flew across the room towards him and he somehow managed to catch it with both hands.

Aegon's eyes were the size of dinner plates but for some reason, Rhaenys didn't look surprised at all.

"What else can you do?" the blonde asked.

Jace grinned suddenly feeling a lot better about how his friends had taken everything. He strode over to the empty wash basin sitting on its table beside the door and picked it up before bringing it over. "Watch this."

He pointed to the middle of the bowl and muttered the word to conjure water.

A moment later the instrument filled with the silver liquid.

Rhaenys gasped and Aegon gave a quiet whoop. Jace grinned as their three heads met over the bowl.

"Just think of all the things we could do!" Aegon said gleefully.

"Now hold on," Jace said. "I told my father I would be very careful with this. I also told him I wouldn't tell anyone, but that's out the window now that you know."

"We won't tell anyone," Rhaenys said looking indignant. "Don't you trust us?"

"Of course I do!" Jace exclaimed. "I just think we should wait till we're older before we tell anyone else. Who knows what people would think?"

"Who cares what people would think?" Aegon asked.

 _King Robert might,_ Jace thought worriedly. _And the last thing I want is to give him an excuse to think of both of you as dangerous and storm the Eyrie so he might do away with you. All he needs is one excuse to wipe the last of the Targaryens in Essos out._

"Let's just say that not everyone likes magic," he said slowly. "They think its dangerous. So we need to be careful."

Rhaenys nodded. "Alright Jace. But let's promise we'll only use magic around each other."

Aegon agreed. "I promise."

The two of them reached towards each other and to Jace's amusement linked pinkies in a sort of pseudo agreement.

"Jace?" Rhaenys asked looking up at him. "Do you agree too?"

The small blonde paused for a moment considering a few things. _Oh hell, if I can't trust my best friends who can I trust?_

"I agree," he said and locked his pinkie around theirs.

And with that they were sealed in a contract they would keep to which solidified them as friends for the rest of their lives.

Ω

 **So a shorter chapter for this update. But I've been having some writer's block with this story. However in the next one we'll be going to a time jump so hopefully things will begin to become more interesting. Also, you may have noticed that the picture attached to this story has changed at the top. The reason for this is that I have finally decided who I have going to have Jace look like in this story. He's going to appear like Jamie Dornan as the huntsman in Once Upon a Time. Since Jamie has blue eyes already, its a perfect combination and although his hair in the picture isn't really blonde, I can envision it being that way. The previous picture with Liam Neeson is how I imagined Jon Arryn to look. Anyway, just a bit of new information. Don't forget to review and happy reading everyone!**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 _Ten Years Later…._

Cold sunlight reflected on the edge of the blade as it slowly and methodically swung back and forth creating a somewhat distracting arc of light. Jace didn't risk looking at it however as he knew it would blind him for a half second and Aegon would be looking for any sign of weakness before striking like a cobra. Aegon could be sneaky when he wanted to be.

There was complete and utter silence as the two teenagers circled one another, feet silent on the stones of the training yard, stepping on the balls of their feet.

Jace's blue eyes stared back into Aegon's violet ones without blinking. Someone was going to have to move first but he sure as the seven hells knew it wasn't going to be him.

A moment later without blinking Aegon lunged, surprising Jace momentarily with his speed before he immediately backed up, parried the block with his own blade and danced around the other blonde.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace saw Oberyn standing at the edge of the grounds with Prince Lewyn beside him. Both men weren't talking but instead watching the movements of each of the teenagers with the focused awareness of warriors who had been fighting for years.

It would have been almost comical had Jace not been focused on his opponent. Something he had learned throughout the years was that his best friend was unbelievably competitive and there were times when that made him a tad reckless. Those times Jace often used that recklessness to his advantage.

Perhaps that was because he had the mind of a thirty something year old, but time had made him wise and cautious.

Aegon had the full disadvantage of suffering from impetuous youth which made his overzealousness amusing to the heir to the Vale.

Now would be a good example.

 _He's going to tire himself out if he keeps lunging like that,_ the blonde thought wryly as he sidestepped another swing. _Ah well, I wouldn't mind winning this. Especially if Rhaenys were around._

He hadn't seen her at the edge of the training grounds but she had a funny way of creeping up on him when he least expected it.

A wind blew and cut through the thin fabric of his billowing shirt but he pain it no mind having long grown used to it.

Aegon swung at his head once more and Jace ducked before the other blonde backed off.

"Keep your movements short and precise," Prince Oberyn barked from the side of the grounds. "Long swinging movements will only guarantee you get a limb cut off."

Aegon made no indicator that he had heard his uncle but his eyes narrowed slightly as they stared down his best friend.

"Come on then," he said, "what are you waiting for?"

"For you to make a mistake," Jace replied back as the two circled each other. "You've already made a few."

"Those will be the last you'll ever see," the prince smirked.

"We'll see about that."

One thing Jace did know was patience, he had had to adjust to many things since waking up in the blonde haired blue eyed body of Jasper Arryn still believing himself to be Neville Longbottom.

Swordplay was one of them and keeping his magic hidden was another. He had had to be patient in almost every aspect of his life as he went through adolescence again and seeing his features beginning the morphing stages from boy to man was one of them.

One thing he could agree was vastly different however was the fact that he was a lot better looking as Jasper Arryn than he had been as Neville Longbottom. Fourteen year old Neville Longbottom was still getting his feet under him and figuring out who he was as a wizard and how he fit into Gryffindor House.

Jasper Arryn was calm, serious, mature and razor focused and he had been assisting in the running of the Eyrie for the past three years.

Being sure of himself was something very new to the blonde but he did like this sort of self confidence.

And speaking of self confidence, one person he never would have expected to come into her own so quickly was Rhaenys.

After her eighth nameday something within her seemed to change and from that moment onward, she was the pinnacle of self confidence. She strode down the halls of the Eyrie like they belonged to her and they certainly would when she was older. But she wasn't arrogant like her uncle. She was fierce but compassionate and kind and Jace could feel himself beginning to warm to her.

He had long since reconciled the loss of Susan and his children and had since moved on with his new life.

Every so often they would pop to mind causing a bittersweet smile to rise within him. They would move on as well and likely had by now seeing as how it had been fourteen years since his death.

But for the moment it would do to remain focused.

Aegon lunged once more and jabbed his blade at Jace's unprotected neck forcing the other blonde to lean back as far as he could without losing his balance. At the same time he swung away from the point of the blade and jabbed at Aegon's unprotected side.

The prince managed to parry just in time and darted away so the two were facing each other once more.

"You almost had me there," he called out and Jace fixed him with a grim smile. "That's because I let my blade to the talking instead of wasting my energy letting my tongue do it."

"How about the both of you cease talking and end this?" Lewyn called out from the side. "I've been standing here so long I'm surprised my feet haven't sprouted roots."

Lewyn had a talent at injecting the obvious with moments of sarcasm far better than his nephew.

 _Very well then._

Quick as a whip, Jace darted in and jabbed at Aegon's legs before dancing out again. As he had hoped the other blonde swung at him as if to parry his thrust and in doing so walked into Jace's trap.

As if he were wielding the sword of Gryffindor that was still locked in his trunk in his chambers, Jace leapt forward and twirled his blade around Aegon's catching the crossguard of the blade on his own. Then with a quick twist of his wrist he wrenched it from the blonde's hand and sent it flying across the courtyard where it landed with a clatter on the ground.

Aegon muttered a curse under his breath when he found the point of Jace's sword at his throat.

"Hold!" Lewyn shouted. "Match to Jasper Arryn!"  
Jace nodded at the Dornish prince before turning back to Aegon who had gone to retrieve his sword from where it was lying and muttering to himself.

Finally he turned back to the heir to the Vale. "Where the bloody hell did you learn that?"

"I taught it to him," said a familiar voice and both young men turned to the edge of courtyard where two people were walking towards them hand in hand.

Jaime Lannister had changed very much since he had arrived in the Eyrie a decade earlier. His hair was longer and blonder, there were more lines around his eyes and mouth betraying how often he smiled and his eyes were brighter in those last ten years than any time before them.

But perhaps all of those things were thanks to the woman who was holding his hand prompting a smile out of Jace himself.

Not long after he had had that conversation with Jaime on his fateful horse ride down the mountains, he was extremely pleased to learn that the blonde had confessed his long buried feelings to the princess in exile.

And wonder of wonders the widow of Rhaegar Targaryen felt the same way!

Six months later they were married prompting a visit from much of Elia's family in Dorne, including Prince Doran Martell who had assigned a steward to rule in his place.

He was a strange man, more of a schemer than a fighter Jace thought when he had met him. But then the Martell siblings seemed to a testament to how different family could be. Oberyn was fierce arrogant, fiery and passionate and wicked deadly with a sword. Elia was sweet, compassionate, resilient and wise whilst Doran was cold, calculated and cunning. A born Slytherin schemer who would have put many who prided themselves as such in the house of serpents to shame.

He and Jace had had a lengthy conversation during his visit and the blonde was certain that Doran had done it to feel out the person who would be marrying his niece. He must have liked what he had seen because he had written to Jace from Dorne several months later offering to answer any questions he might have on matters of ruling.

Jace was appreciative but also cautious given that he didn't want to be a puppet on a string when he came of age having another man ruling the east through him.

When he inevitably married Rhaenys, he would be connected to House Martell giving them more of a foothold in the northern part of Westeros and Jace wasn't sure how much control he wanted to give his betrothed's family.

Rhaenys he trusted absolutely along with her brother and he adored Elia. Oberyn and Lewyn it had taken some time warming up to but after a year or so when Oberyn offered to instruct Jace in the ways of the sword along with Aegon the blonde didn't even blink.

Oberyn and Lewyn Martell would be useful allies to have and he would rather have them see him as an equal rather than a weak fool undeserving of the east and of Rhaenys.

And so their training had commenced in earnest. Jace had a bit of an advantage because of his magic but he had made a promise to himself that he wouldn't use it on his best friend for whatever reason even though Aegon told him sometimes it was necessary to use whatever advantages he had.

" _I'll be no better than Tywin Lannister if I do that," he had told his best friend a year earlier. "He rules by fear and that's not the sort of person I want to be. Magic has its place but it's a tool not a weapon."_

 _"_ _There's a fine line between those two things," Aegon had warned him.  
"There is, but I intend to walk it."_

Oberyn barked out a laugh shaking Jace from his thoughts. "I should have known that was your handy work Lannister. Only a member of the Kingsguard would be that flashy."

"Former member," Elia murmured as the couple convened with the other Martells at the side of the grounds. "And thank the gods for that."

Jaime smirked at her before turning back to the two fourteen year olds who were jostling each other as they walked over. "Well done young Arryn. You performed the trick flawlessly."

"Well I learned from the best," Jasper replied modestly. After their blunt conversation he and Jaime had become fast friends. It was an odd relationship but in a way it suited them. They were both the heirs to their respective great houses and had been thrust into roles that they weren't expecting. In a way they were both the odd men out having no family amongst the sea of Martells in the Eyrie, they had gravitated towards each other. And it was a relationship that served them both, hence the mentoring.

"I didn't know you were giving private lessons Uncle Jaime," Aegon said narrowing his eyes at his step father. "Why does Jace merit them and I don't?"

The taller blonde smirked at the shorter one. "Did you ask?"

Aegon shifted uncomfortably. "Well no."

"Well there you are."

"You could benefit from a few more lessons outside of myself and Oberyn," Lewyn Martell broke in addressing his great nephew. "You're too impulsive Aegon and your impatience is going to be your undoing one of these days."

"Chide him not if you please Uncle," Elia said. "Its bad enough that my son and future son are already going at it hammer and tongs every day for no less than three hours and have been doing so since they were ten but now you are saying he needs more practice. Whatever for?"

"He is a Targaryen," Lewyn said simply. "The last one in Westeros with a claim to the throne and people may seek to use him for it. He must learn to defend himself. His father was a master with a sword."

Jaime bristled as if he had been stung and Elia narrowed her eyes at the older dark haired man.

"His father is no longer here," she hissed, "and it would serve Aegon better to not follow in his footsteps."

The two young blondes exchanged uncomfortable glances.

Throughout the last ten years in the Vale, the subject of Rhaegar Targaryen had largely been taboo and only spoken about in whispers.

Aegon was reluctant to bring up the subject of his deceased father even to Jace as his own father had served on the other side in the war.

They were the best of friends and even brothers but there were some parts of history that made things difficult.

This was one of them.

"I wouldn't worry my lady," Jace broke in quickly in order to stave off either an argument or an uncomfortable silence. "Aegon here is already far better with a sword than that fight would suggest. Besides when he has his own keep one day he is going to need to learn to defend it."

Elia fixed the blonde with a fond smile. "I suppose that's true. But that day is not yet."

"No mother its not," Aegon replied with a somewhat long suffering sigh. "But it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Which is exactly what you won't be if you keep fighting like that."

All present company glanced up to find a tall slender brunette coming down the steps from the main doors of the Eyrie. She was dressed in a sky blue gown and her long black curls were hanging loose down her back. Her violet eyes snapped with amusement as she looked at her brother and on her back was a quiver full of arrows with the bow tucked into it.

"Oh and I suppose you're any better?" Aegon shot back.

His sister tossed back her head and laughed. "Every arrow is dead center brother. Before my opponents see them coming they're dead…which is exactly what you'll be if you keep losing to Jace."

The heir to the Vale coughed to hide his laugh even as he felt Aegon seething beside him.

The Targaryen siblings often went back and forth in a sort of who is better contest many times throughout the last decade but Rhaenys' smooth tongue started fights as well as she finished them and she enjoyed ribbing her hot headed brother a little too much sometimes.

"Rhaenys," her mother said in a warning tone.

"Just having a bit of fun mother," the brunette replied nonchalantly. "I also thought to inform you that Joanna has woken from her nap."

Joanna was Rhaenys' and Aegon's half sister and the daughter of Elia and Jaime. Since their union nearly ten years earlier they had had three children, two sons and one daughter who had been born a few years prior. Their eldest Gerion was eight years of age with his second brother Loren was six. Joanna was three and was the apple of her half siblings' eye.

Both Rhaenys and Aegon had been ecstatic when they learned that Jaime would marry their mother and they were even more excited to learn that they would have more siblings.

In the ten years since he had come, Jaime had never left the Eyrie to return to the west and Jace had a funny feeling that that had infuriated Tywin Lannister to no end. It was not enough to have his grandchildren sit on the throne of Westeros through his daughter but he needed to have his eldest son by his side as well.

But Jaime had proven he had had enough of taking orders about what he should be doing when he chose to marry Elia.

Jace sometimes wondered what Tywin Lannister thought of _that_ union as well. He had grandchildren to pass on his line to but the woman who had birthed them must have truly set his teeth on edge.

The Lannister name was tied to the Martell and Targaryen names now. And before long, the Arryn name would be too.

Jace could see how such connections would make the old lion uneasy.

But no matter.

He smiled at Rhaenys as she strolled up to them with the easy grace of a well fed feline. She smirked back at him before reaching up and planting a kiss on his cheek prompting Aegon to give her a look of disgust, the adults to chuckle and Jace to go bright red.

Of all of the relationships he had formed since the Martell/Targaryen party had come to the Vale, the one with Rhaenys was the most complex.

He had spent the first bit of time with her trying to get her to come out of her shell and when he had succeeded, she had never gone back in. Because of his patience with her, they had formed a special relationship that was different to the others he had built.

They both trusted each other absolutely, so much so that Rhaenys had confessed in Jace her ultimate fear. She didn't want to never be able to leave the Eyrie. Yes she had her mother and brother and uncles and step father and new siblings here but the loss of freedom grated on her like nothing else.

Rhaenys Targaryen was a free spirit, wild and untamed but cunning and calculating like her uncle and if there was one thing she hated it was being told she couldn't do something.

She had perked up when Jace had privately informed her that with his magic, they could go anywhere in Westeros that they wanted and no one would be the wiser.

At the same time though he understood her feelings. Other than the secret trips to see his father under the guise of magic he had never left the Eyrie and the desire to see the rest of Westeros was beginning to build.

But in the meantime, there was a time coming soon when a certain part of Westeros would be coming to him.

A few weeks ago he had received a letter from his father detailing that Ned Stark and his eldest son and heir Robb as well as his eldest daughter Sansa would be visiting the Eyrie on some business for him.

This was especially strange as in the decade since the war, Ned Stark had not come south of the Neck. The fact that he was bringing his children with him was even more interesting. The official reason was that he wanted his children to meet their cousin and develop connections in the south.

Jace privately wondered however if there wasn't another reason.

They would be arriving within the week and the whole of the Eyrie was readying itself.

For his part, Jace was eager to see his cousins and his uncle as it had been years since Ned Stark had set foot in the Eyrie.

The fact that he was doing so now after secluding himself well behind the walls of Winterfell was cause enough to make Jace speculate about the political workings of the realm.

Did King Robert have his hand in any of these dealings or was it all the work of his father?

Though Stark, Arryn, Tully and Baratheon were all united on grounds of loyalty or marriage, the Arryn name was also connected to the previous dynasty and Jace knew for a fact that King Robert had never liked the idea that the Targaryen children had remained alive and protected in the Vale.

It had been roughly ten years since the rebellion but if he still didn't feel his reign was secure from the previous rulers than he never would.

It was all the more reason to have Aegon become used to looking over his shoulder as well as to find him a permanent hold in the Vale so Jace could show Robert that the son of his nemesis was not a threat.

He had a few ideas about where to place him but nothing solid yet. There was still a few more years until he came of age.

And speaking of coming of age, it was only a few years for himself before he reached maturity and took over the Vale and before long he would marry Rhaenys, a thought that truly made him nervous.

He was glad he had known her for the length of time that he had as many couples in Westeros did not truly meet until their wedding day. They had been given the gift of time together which alone made them very lucky.

But Jace wanted to ensure that he was able to love the Targaryen princess in the way that a husband should love his wife and he wasn't sure that he did yet.

Ah well, there were still years ahead of them before any wedding vows were said.

"I had better go and check on Joanna before she gets up to any mischief," Elia said planting a quick kiss on Jaime's cheek. "You remember what happened the last time I left her home."

"I'm just glad she only pulled one book down from the library shelf," Aegon muttered running a hand through his sweaty blonde hair. "It might have been a nightmare had she grabbed more."

"She's at that age where she's grabbing everything," Rhaenys laughed. "It's a good thing that I always put my quiver out of reach because she was eyeing my arrows the other day."

"Always curious about everything," Jaime chuckled reaching out an arm and wrapping it around the brunette's shoulders. "Someday she's growing to grow up to be just like you."

Surprisingly Rhaenys' cheeks turned slightly pink and she sank a bit into Jaime's side.

As Jace watched him he remembered a conversation that he had had with Rhaenys a year ago about her father.

Though Aegon didn't have very many memories of Rhaegar Targaryen, Rhaenys did and she remembered them from the time he would tuck her into bed to the time she had hidden under his when the Lannister army was sacking the city because she was afraid.

 _"_ _I remember calling for him, praying that he would come and protect me the way I always thought he would," Rhaenys said one night as they were sitting before the fire in the High Hall. "But he never came. But the one person who did come was Uncle Jaime. He stabbed the man who was trying to kill me and gathered me up in his arms and ran with me to my mother and Aegon. And he never put me down. He was more of a father to me in that moment than Rhaegar Targaryen ever was."_

 _"_ _Ser Jaime is an honorable man," Jace had agreed. "He may not think it of himself sometimes, but he represents the best of the Lannisters from his generation at least."_

 _"_ _Yes," Rhaenys said quietly. "Yes he does. And because of him, the Lannister name has been redeemed. I'm honored that he married my mother and became my new family. I didn't realize how much I needed one until I came here."_

 _"_ _You do like it here though don't you?" Jace asked, surprised how her answer mattered to him.  
Rhaenys turned to him and in that moment excluding her Targaryen violet eyes she looked exactly like her mother. "Of course I do. The Red Keep was never a home and I've never been to Dorne. The Eyrie and the Vale are the only home I've ever known and I wouldn't want it any other way."_

"Speaking of growing up," Lewyn broke in. "Aegon you still have more work to do in order to curb your impulsiveness. Jasper, well done. Take care however that you don't wait too long to attack. Waiting for too long could spoil quality chances. But your patience does you credit. Come the near future you are going to be a deadly swordsman."

"Thank you Prince Lewyn."

The older Dornish man nodded before turning to his great nephew who looked a little put out by the constructive criticism. "I say this for your own good nephew. Your uncle here takes too many foolish chances in a fight and one of these days its going to cost him."

"I beg your pardon?" Oberyn asked indignantly.

Lewyn continued as if the younger prince hadn't spoken and stepped close to the blonde before placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're better than that. You have a lot of skill and raw talent with a blade in your hands but you need to harness that. You're passionate and that's a good thing, passion runs in the blood of the Martells. But passion can also cause blood to run. Do you understand?"

Aegon pursed his lips. "Yes Uncle."

"Good," Lewyn said before nodding.

"My lords?"

All the men looked up to see Maester Colemen standing there with a rolled scroll in his hand.

"Yes maester?" Jace asked.

"A letter my lord for Prince Lewyn and Prince Oberyn Martell from Prince Doran Martell my lord," the maester said.

"Ah, right on time. I was expecting his letter," Lewyn said taking the scroll from the maester. "Come along nephew."

The two Martell princes strode off towards the tall stone steps that led to the main doors of the Eyrie leaving Jaime, Rhaenys Aegon and Jace behind.

"I had better go check on your brothers and see what they are up to," Jaime said running a hand through his hair. "If I'm not mistaken Loren's first riding lesson was to be today."

"And you can't miss that now can you Uncle Jaime?" Rhaenys said with a laugh. "Go on. I'm sure Mother's already collected Joanna and is at the stables right now."

Jaime nodded before planting a kiss on her forehead clapping Aegon's shoulder and striding off down the stone path towards the stables.

There was a breath of silence before Jace turned to Rhaenys. "How was your archery lesson?"

"It went very well," the brunette said with a smile. "Ser Nestor says I possess a speed and accuracy that he has not seen in a long time."

"Rub it in why don't you?" Aegon muttered and Rhaenys sighed. "You're not going to win practice matches with an attitude like that. And anyway, its not about winning, its about becoming better. You want to become better don't you?"

Aegon sighed and some of the sulking appeared to leave him. "I do."

"Well then focus on that," Rhaenys said in a surprisingly gentle voice. "Don't try to win. Try to be better."

"Sage advice," Jace teased. "Anything I need to work on?"

"Yes," the brunette beauty said stepping up to the blonde and looking him over. She was so close Jace could smell her familiar scent and he grimaced when he felt his heart begin to beat faster. Gods but this was strange.

"Be bolder," the princess said looking directly into his eyes. "People like someone who takes charge. You're the heir to the east Jace. It won't be long before you take the reins. So do so more now."

Jasper opened his mouth but no formulation of words came out prompting a smirk out of Rhaenys before she planted another kiss on his cheek and strode off down the path that Jaime had followed minutes earlier.

There was a long silence between the two blondes after she left before Jace rubbed the side of his face wryly and spoke. "I'm going to have my hands full with her aren't I?"

Aegon sighed dramatically and threw an arm around the other blonde's shoulders. "We all have our lots in life Jace. And unfortunately yours is to marry my sister."

"Oh it won't be that bad," Jace said jokingly. "For one thing I think she'll be nicer to me than to you."

"Ha!" Aegon barked. "We'll see about that. Now come on. I do believe my little brother is about to sit on a horse for the first time."

"Think he'll be as good as we were?" Jace asked.

Aegon guffawed again. "He can't be any worse. After all who could forget our first time riding outside of the Eyrie. I don't think anyone could have worse luck than us on that trip."

Jace laughed too. "I wouldn't tempt fate on that one. It has a funny way of coming to bite us in the arse."

Ω

Later that evening when the Eyrie was quiet, the candles had been lit and almost all of the occupants under their tenth name day were asleep, Jace was sitting quietly with Aegon before the fire in the library Rhaenys had been called upon to read her little sister a bed time story and no doubt the adults were communing in the High Hall so the two blonde adolescents had communed to the quiet hallowed halls lined with books.

Both were doing some reading on the Vale for their respective political lessons with Nestor Royce for the following day and the room was one of general quiet.

"What are your cousins like?" Aegon asked suddenly putting his book down.

Jace shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I've never met them but I have heard that Robb and Sansa take after more of the Tully than the Stark side.

Aegon nodded and Jace frowned. "Does their visit make you uneasy?"

The other blonde shook his head. "No. Ned Stark was instrumental in keeping myself and my sister and mother our of Baratheon's hand. I could never feel the animosity towards him that I do Baratheon."

"Good," Jace said feeling some relief.

"However," Aegon continued. "It does make me wonder about certain things."

"Such as?"  
"He's bringing his heir and eldest daughter," Aegon mused. "I can only think that the reason for that is because he wishes to forge greater connections in the south. And what is one of the greatest connections one can make?"

"Marriage," Jace said immediately and then he blinked. "Wait a minute, you don't think that – "

"I don't know what to think," Aegon said raising his hands. "And it would be a far stretch to think that that sort of connection is what Ned Stark intends. But the fact that he is bringing his eldest daughter rather than just his heir is a little odd to me."

"I had had that thought myself," Jace admitted reluctantly. "But perhaps he just wants her to have connections with other members of her family. I am her cousin and we've never met and Rhaenys will marry me in a few years."

"I suppose," Aegon said. "But one thing is for certain, the political globe is moving after having stood still for the last ten years. And _that_ makes me uneasy."

Jace sighed. "I can't say I disagree."

" _There_ you are."

Both young men looked up to find the door open and Rhaenys standing upon the threshold. With the light of the hallway at her back, her features were almost indistinguishable.

"Where else would we be when there's work to do but the library?" Aegon asked.

"Um you dear brother would be anywhere but here," the brunette teased. "You aren't exactly the studious type."

"Yes I am!" the blonde said indignantly.

Jace raised an eyebrow. "Aegon you once hid all of your books and pretended you couldn't find them when Nestor Royce asked us if he had read his assignment."

"Well who could blame me?" the prince asked. "That reading was incredibly dry."

"Unfortunately you have to take the good with the bad sometimes," Rhaenys said wryly as she strode over to them. "In the meantime Jace, I ran into Ser Nestor. He had something for me to give to you. Its from your father."

Instantly the jovial atmosphere of the room chilled and the smile dropped from Aegon's face. News from the capital always put the three on edge as news from King's Landing meant news about Robert Baratheon, the Targaryen siblings least favorite person in Westeros.

Jace frowned up at Rhaenys as he took the letter from her but her face gave away nothing betraying that she was as clueless about what was in the letter as he was.

Breaking open the sky-blue wax seal, Jace unfolded the letter to meet his father's familiar scrawl.

 _My dear son_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. Your mother and younger brother send their regards and well wishes as well as their love. How fares Rhaenys and Aegon? I was pleased in your last letter to find that they are both doing well as are the Lannister Martell children. Something to be aware of my son are any imports coming out of the West. I have dealings with Tywin Lannister to be sure but since his son and by extension his grandchildren are a permanent fixture in the Eyrie, you will find his eyes fixed most heavily on the east. Be watchful. The lion always prowls about on the ground seeking something to devour but the eagle will spot his plan from the air before he ever makes a move._

 _Speaking of actions however, I wished for you to receive this letter before the official one arrived from the king. He has learned of Ned Stark's trip to the Eyrie and is desirous to see him as it has been many years since their last meeting. I think he is also on edge about Ned coming into contact with Rhaenys and Aegon as he like I did argued passionately for their lives during the war._

 _He has drawn his lines my son but the fact that he still does not know where Ned has drawn his worries him. Perhaps it is because of that that he has issued this official summons._

 _Upon the conclusion of Ned's trip to the Vale, you he and his son and daughter have been invited here to King's Landing. I use the term invited loosely as it would not be wise to deny a king. His motives in this summoning he has not revealed even to me which makes me uneasy._

 _My only guess is to begin to forge connections between himself and the other great houses. The best way to do that would be through marriage, perhaps a union between Ned's daughter Sansa and the crown prince Joffrey. I warn you my son however that it grates upon him that you are betrothed to Rhaenys and as of recently he has begun looking into marriage agreements for his daughter Myrcella. He may try to convince you that marrying a true princess and not a disinherited one would be a better course of action._

 _Of course Doran Martell would be up in arms over such an agreement and I am doing my best to ensure that these suspicions never become reality. But be watchful nonetheless my son. Robert has lived much of his life being able to strong arm people. I know your will is strong as well though and you will stand fast despite any temptation to please. Our alliance with the Martells must hold. And when you come, be courteous to Princess Myrcella. She is a lovely girl but a strong personality she is not. Do not give her any reason to think that these rumors hold water._

 _And keep an eye on Sansa when she comes. From Ned's letters she is a girl who is more interested in stories than reality. Hopefully some time spent with Lady Rhaenys will teach her the benefits of a more balanced approach to life._

 _Be well my son. It will not be long before we meet again._

 _Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East_

"Bad news?" Aegon asked as Jace finished reading.

Wordlessly the blonde handed the letter to his best friend and watched as Rhaenys read it over his shoulder.

"Summoned to the capital?" Aegon asked when he had finished. "Whatever for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rhaenys hissed. "Baratheon wishes to sidestep the agreement that was made between Lord Arryn and Uncle Doran years ago and replace me with a pretty blonde daughter of Cersei Lannister."

"Calm down Rhae, you don't honestly think such an agreement could possibly be overturned or that Jace or Lord Arryn would agree to anything like that?" Aegon said doing his best to soothe his sister.

"It is ludicrous," Jace said. "But when Robert stayed here he was a man accustomed to getting his way and even though I will say no should such an agreement be proposed, there is still the possibility of him getting his claws into Sansa as a bride for his son. And from what my father has told me Prince Joffrey should never sit on a throne much less look at it. He is an entitled idiot who hides behind his father's power with no idea of how to rule."

"All the more reason for you to say no," Rhaenys insisted. "Who knows what is going on in that accursed city?"

Jace raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that concern I hear?"

Rhaenys stood her ground, hands on her hips, purple eyes spitting fire. "What if it is? I don't want you getting swept off your feet by some flighty doe eyed blonde princess."

Now the second eyebrow joined the first. "Rhae do you have so little faith in me that I wouldn't do everything in my power to honor the agreement that was made years ago?"

"Of course not," the brunette side. "Who I don't have faith in is Baratheon. What does honor mean to him when it comes to getting his way?"

"Very little it would seem," Aegon said tossing the letter down on the table between him and Jace. "So what are you going to do?"

Jace was silent for a long moment just staring into the fire, his face a mask. "I will have to answer the king's summons. But I do have an advantage that he does not know about and only three other people do which may counter attack any ill planned attempts for political gain in the capital."

"You once told me that magic was a tool not a weapon," Aegon said with a smirk.

"I did," Jace said. "And I meant it. But it seems that there is a time coming when I may have to put that tool to use."

Ω

 **And I am back everyone! Sorry for the long wait on this one, but I hope the brand new details make up for it. Next chapter, Ned, Sansa and Robb arrive in the Vale and following that Jace will make his trip to the capital where the political oil will really start to burn. Anyway I hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to review!**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Over the course of the next few weeks Jasper found himself to be incredibly busy preparing for the arrival of his uncle and cousins. Since the coming of the Martells, the Eyrie had not had to play host to such a large party in a long time.

Jace found he had enjoyed the quiet and perhaps become all too used to it. For the last decade he had had nothing to do but learn, spend time with his friends and visit his father by way of his magic on occasion.

Now politics was coming for him and he couldn't help but feel a little on edge at the suddenness of it all.

His own jump into adolescence had reminded him of the war he had been thrown into just after his fourth year of school. Voldemort had returned and the whole magical community was in an uproar. He had been forced from a very secretive and highly volatile defence group at school and had then led said group after Harry had left the school with Ron and Hermione.

The long of it was, he was used to being a leader. People had looked to him and Susan and Ginny and Luna and Seamus when they were the last defence that the younger students had from the Carrows.

He had stepped up when they thought Harry was dead and cut the head off Nagini knowing she was the seventh Horcrux.

It wasn't something that had been asked of him, it wasn't something he had wanted to do. He had done it because it was the right thing to do.

He found himself in the same position here with the running of the Eyrie and preparing the visit of a Lord Paramount.

Nestor was bringing more and more documents to him for his signature and Jace was taking the time to read each and every one before apparating to King's Landing and spending an evening with his father shut in the Tower of the Hand going over said documents before mailing them back.

In matters of politics which was often a slow and steady process the use of magic was a tool to speed things along.

Thus the night before his uncle and cousins were to arrive, Jace found himself sitting in a cozy chair in the Tower of the Hand with the door bolted. Jon Arryn had given strict instructions that he was not to be disturbed for the evening unless under the most dire of circumstances.

They had adopted this process quite a lot over the last few years, spending an evening together once a week.

From there, Jace learned all about the intrigues of the capital and there certainly were many.

"How do you feel about this visit?" Jon asked as they sat by the fire, himself with a glass of wine and Jace with a well watered one.

"I question the timing of his visit," Jace admitted. "I don't believe for one second that he is coming south to discuss business matters with the east. There must be a deeper meaning for his visit that none of us has yet to know."

"Ned hasn't even sent me his reasons for this visit. I think he fears whatever it is will get into the wrong hands."

Jace raised an eyebrow. "You think it is a serious matter then?"

"With Ned, nothing is serious or lighthearted, but the fact that he is leaving the North after fourteen years does raise some eyebrows."

"He is in the Vale now and messengers have been alerting me everyday as to their progress."

Jon stroked his chin. I would not question Ned's intentions too deeply if he were only coming with his heir but the fact that he bringing his eldest daughter is telling. He obviously wishes for her to make connections in the south."

"Marriage connections," Jace surmised. "But to whom?"

Jon raised an eyebrow at him and the blonde wasn't long in reaching the same conclusion as his father. He set the glass of well watered wine down with a thump. "You don't think that – "

"What else makes sense?" Jon asked gravely.

Jace's mind sputtered for a moment before taking off at high speeds again. "But cousin Sansa is the daughter of a Lord Paramount and Aegon….well he is untitled at the moment. I know he was born a prince but he is no longer one and a marriage to him of such proportions would be…reckless to say the least."

"I certainly wouldn't think it of Ned either, but at the same time, many things have occurred in the last few years. that I wouldn't think likely."

Jace knew his father was referring to his magic and all the complications that had come along with it. To this day only three people in the whole of Westeros knew about his magic and two of them weren't even here.

"I'll need to ensure he has a title then," the blonde mused. "Some large holdfast that would be appropriate but also one that is not so important that it would ruffle the feathers of some of the other lords."

Jon raised an eyebrow. "You would support a marriage like this?"

Jace mirrored his father. "Why not? Aegon is my best friend and Sansa is my cousin, why shouldn't I wish for a match made between them."

"Because the king may take it as a sign of rebellion," Jon said glancing at the door even though Jace had silenced the room. "He has never forgotten that his mortal enemies children are still alive and protected in the Vale and it has always been a shadow on mine and Ned's relationship with him that we fought for

Aegon and Rhaenys' survival. If he thinks that the daughter of closest friend is marrying the son of his mortal enemy, he may see it as a cause for betrayal and open war."

Jace took a sip from the glass of wine near him. "They don't need to marry right away father. For gods sake they need to meet first, Aegon may not like her or she might not like him. No one is calling for the septon right away."

"You know the risks of something like this," Jon pressed on. "The Starks will be coming to the capital after their time with you and Robert will press hard to arrange a marriage between Prince Joffrey and Sansa. That _cannot_ happen?"

"And why not?' Jace asked frowning. "You have exhibited such an intense disliking for the crown prince and the queen in the last few years but you have never said why."

"You yourself have seen enough of the capital in the last few years to know that that boy is cruel, insane and not fit to rule. He has been given little to no direction save for the raving inane advice of his mother who is equally incompetent and I have been told by others that he bears an alarming resemblance to Aerys Targaryen, young as he may be."

The fire crackled loudly in the hearth as if to punctuate the end of his father's statement. Jace had seen Prince Joffrey in passing when he had walked around beneath well placed spells, unseen in the halls of the keep.

And he had to admit that his father wasn't wrong.

"But if it is not to be him," he asked slowly. "Than the only other option would be Stannis Baratheon."

"Aye," Jon said grimly, "he is Robert's true heir."

Jace blinked. "Father I hope you realize the magnitude of the conversation we are having. This is treason if it were to be discovered. Tywin Lannister will not take kindly to even a mention of a change in the line of succession."

Jon grinned at his son. "I suppose then it is a good reason that we have a means of ensuring that he never learns of what is being discussed."

Jace chuckled to himself. "How are mother and Robert?"

Instantly Jon's smile turned downwards and he began to look a little tired. "I am beginning to think that bringing your mother to the capital was not the wisest plan. The air is not good for her, nor is the intrigue. The only exposure she has had to other women has been the queen and that has proven to be a potentially poisonous influence. She also dotes on Robert too much and cossets him with too much attention. I think she is trying to make up for not having had so much of a hand in your upbringing."

Jace grimaced. "My upbringing was a bit unorthodox I will admit but it wasn't like we had the greatest choice in the matter. There always needs to be a defender in the Vale and even though I was young, you chose me. She traveled back and forth to see me every so often and we made do with the best we had."

"I know," Jon sighed running a hand along the side of his face. "But I am contemplating the idea of sending her back to the Vale. The air there might do her good and it would also be helpful to get her away from the influences of the court. There are too many people here whispering in everyone else's ears. There are too many people with motives and ambitions. Your mother doesn't have the disposition for that…and Robert is too innocent in the ways of the world to understand that he might be being used. I thank the gods he is not the eldest though. I would be far more concerned for the future of the Vale if it were in his hands and not yours."

Jace nodded, warmed by his father's praise but also concerned for his younger brother. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to separate the two. Robert is eight now isn't he? Send him back to the Vale where he can grow and breathe without mother's attention. And perhaps after a time, send Mother to Riverrun where she can spend some time with Grandfather and Uncle Edmure. The time there in her child hood home might do her some good."

"It is an interesting proposition," Jon said. "I will think on it."

"Good," Jace said getting to his feet. "I had better be getting back to the Eyrie, Uncle Ned and Robb and Sansa will be here in a few days. I need to make sure that certain members of the Martell family are on their best behaviour."

Jon threw back his head and laughed. "You can grit your teeth all you want my son, but the Martells will soon be family. Prince Oberyn may be frustrating at times but I know that his time in Vale has increased his affection for the north of Westeros. And perhaps for you."

"For me?" Jace asked incredulously. "Prince Oberyn bears no affection for anyone but members of his own family."

"Ah and that is where you would be wrong," Jon said. "I have recently received a letter from Doran Martell and in this communication he has written that both he, his brother and his uncle think very highly of you. They were quite pleased with how their family survived the rebellion relatively unscathed and Doran only agreed that Oberyn stay in the Vale as a means of keeping an eye on you, ensuring that as you grew, you would be worthy of Rhaenys. And I think that you have greatly impressed the three of them, both with your capabilities as a warrior and as a lord. They have high aspirations for both you and Rhaenys."

The news of this pleased Jace greatly but he decided to remain cautious none the less. "In spite of this I wish to remain clear that the only aspirations I intend to set and meet are my own. I'm sure Rhaenys has her own as well and I will help her reach hers as I am sure she will help me reach mine. We're in this together after all."

Jon looked extremely pleased. "I'm very glad that the two of you have managed to find a common ground and affection for each other so early on. Not many couples in arranged marriages manage to find this. You would do well to continue to cultivate it. If you do, you may have a marriage that is the envy of many."

Jace chuckled slightly. "There are still a few years before rings are exchanged and vows are said father. I'm not in any hurry."

Jon got to his feet and stood in front of his son. "Good. See to it that it stays that way for the next little while. Notify my when Ned and his son and daughter arrive."

"I will."

And then Jon did something somewhat unexpected. He stopped in front of his son and put his hands on his shoulders. "Be careful. I feel we are heading into dangerous political waters. Robert's grip on the throne is weak and there are many in this city who despise him for his lack of interest in being a king. He is already greatly in debt to both the Lannisters and the Iron Bank and the debt must be repaid one way or another."

"What are you saying Father?" Jace asked narrowing his eyes.

"I'm saying you need to brace yourself. A storm is coming and Westeros must be able to weather it."

Ω

The following morning, Jace and Rhaenys were walking through the godswood of the Eyrie hand in hand.

In the many years since she had come to stay in Vale, both Rhaenys and her mother had thrown their hard work into making the green space an actual wood.

Having retained his abilities in Herbology, Jace assisted and once the soil was made richer, the sprouts they planted retained life and sprouted up. Now the space was a living thriving wood with tall rich grasses and young oaks that had been enriched by Jace's green thumb.

It had become a place of peace and serenity and whenever one of them needed to talk with the other, they would head to that place.

"You've been awfully quiet since you went to see your father last night," Rhaenys observed. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Jace said drawing out the word in a voice that was completely unconvincing and the brunette quite easily picked up on it.

"Very well then, is _he_ alright?" Rhaenys asked. "I may not have lived in the capital for very long and don't have much memory of it but my mother's told me enough to know that it would not be an easy environment to live in."

Jace chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "No, I don't expect it is, but it seems that there are more secrets between people than ever before that he does not seem inclined to share. Although he did tell me that the King is swimming in debt both from Tywin Lannister and the Iron Bank. I knew he was in a grievous repayment period but not to whom he owed the coin to. Now I see that the situation is more dire than I thought. The city itself does not seem to be the most well put together and there is a smell of corruption in their air. It's a web my father has yet to untangle and I can tell that the situation is wearing on him."

"Perhaps its high time that he relinquish the role of Hand to the King's brother and return here to the Eyrie to focus on ruling it and not the Seven Kingdoms,"

Rhaenys suggested and Jace chuckled.

"Perhaps I should bring you with me next time so you can tell him that yourself. My father's always been a stubborn man."

"Just like his son," Rhaenys said stopping and turning towards her betrothed. "Both of you are men stubbornly bent on doing the right thing no matter the consequences."

She raised a hand to his face then and rested it against his cheek. "It's probably why the two of you are the only ones outside of my family that I trust completely. The Arryns are a line of honorable men, they always have been."

"I think you're giving me a little too much credit," Jace said trying to ignore the tingling in his cheek from where her hand was touching his skin.

"I don't think so," Rhaenys said. "Other than Uncle Jaime, you and your father are the most honorable men I know. Uncle Oberyn is many things to many people but honorable isn't the first thing that comes to my mind when describing him. Brash, bold perhaps or even reckless. My mother often calls him grating and Uncle Lewyn calls him bewildering but the word honorable doesn't often come into the conversation."

"Sometimes a man doesn't need to be honorable in this world," Jace said as she took her hand from his face. "Sometimes they just need to do what is necessary. And maybe that is why my father has chosen to remain in the capital for so long…because he doesn't see it as the honorable thing but rather as the thing that is the most necessary."

"You know I also discovered another thing the Arryn men have in common," Rhaenys said judging from the tone in her voice she was amused.

"And what's that?"

"You all possess an abysmal sense of humor," Rhaenys said with one eyebrow raised. She was baiting him and he knew it.

"I don't think that is just an Arryn trait," Jace said with false introspection.

"Oh no?"

"No, I also happen to think that the Stark men are even worse," Jace quipped. "You forget that I lived here with my Uncle Ned before he was ever my uncle. A more stiff man I doubt you'll ever see. No doubt my cousin Robb is the same way."

"Well then perhaps I'll have to find some way of loosening him up," Rhaenys said somewhat cheekily.

Jace raised an eyebrow at her. "I beg your pardon?"

"It was a jest!" she said raising her hands.

"Good," Jace said with a little too much force.

"Why Jasper Arryn," she said pressing a hand to her mouth somewhat dramatically. "You wouldn't happen to be jealous would you?"

"What on earth would I have to be jealous of?" Jace asked honestly. "You are promised to me and no other. I'm not going to lose sight of that because of a joke."

She stared at him with surprise for a moment and then burst into laughter when he winked at her with a completely straight face.

Standing on her toes she pressed a kiss to his cheek, her violet eyes sparkling. "What on earth am I going to do with you Lord Arryn?"

"I suppose you'll just have to put up with me Rhae," Jace said with a smile as they continued their walk. "I'm certainly not going to be leaving you anytime soon."

Rhaenys threaded her arm through his and then surprised him by resting her head against his shoulder. "That doesn't sound like a bad fate to me…not at all."

Ω

Elia Martell smiled as she watched her daughter and future son walk arm in arm slowly through the godswood. Even from her vantage point in one of the towers, she could tell how relaxed the two were.

She closed her eyes and silently sent a prayer of thanks up to the Mother for how she had protected this strange family over the last decade.

The catalyst had been Jon Arryn and to a lesser degree Ned Stark who had joined the former in arguing for their lives. But it was Lord Arryn who had risked his reputation and peace with the new king in order to bring her and her two children to the Eyrie to the live away from political upheaval.

He was a man who would always have her respect in a way no other would.

And perhaps that was why she was so apprehensive.

"I still don't think this is a good idea," she said absently to her husband who was currently sitting on the edge of their bed tying up his boots.

"Neither do I," Jaime replied turning to her. "But you know your brothers better than I do. Apparently, Doran has been planning this for a long time."

"That doesn't surprise me," Elia said as she looked down on the blonde and brunette from the window again. "Doran has always been a schemer. But to plan something of this magnitude is something I wouldn't have expected…even from him."

"Do you truly believe that?" Jaime asked as he got to his feet. "Your brother is many things, but he is not one to be easily satisfied. His nephew was going to sit on Westeros's throne before it all went south. And his ambitions to see him there haven't changed."

"That is what I am afraid of!" Elia snapped. "My brother desires power, its not an original desire but he is like Tywin Lannister in his longevity. He will scheme and plot and plan for decades until he sees the fulfillment of his ambitions. And sometimes those ambitions concern me. My son and daughter and I narrowly survived the war by the skin of our teeth and now he wishes to throw Aegon back into a mass of politics that our son has no idea how to combat."

As worried as she was, it did warm Jaime to hear her refer to Aegon as their son and not simply hers. In the last few years the siblings had referred to him in private as their father, something that overwhelmed him at times.

In public it was always Uncle Jaime but when it was just the four of them, the moniker was exchanged for the title that was far more intimate and familiar.

It didn't escape him that he was now the father of five children, two of whom would be married off in the next few years.

He privately wondered what his father would think of his current situation and then dismissed it. No doubt his father was seething knowing that his three grandchildren and future heir to Casterly Rock were sequestered in the Eyrie.

He had received no letters from Tywin since he had come to the Eyrie which was another cause to make Jaime nervous.

No doubt the Old Lion was content enough with his sister's children sitting on the Iron Throne. But he also knew his father wasn't letting him go…not by a long shot.

And if what Doran was scheming ever came to fruition…well…there was a possibility that he would never escape him.

But he tried not to think about that for the time being. "You don't truly think Doran would plan something like this if he didn't think that Aegon was up to the task do you?"

"That's not the point," Elia said. "I don't know how planning for something like this is even possible. We are talking about changing the line of succession."

"Which is probably why Doran has been planning it for a decade," Jaime muttered. "I didn't even know how involved Oberyn was until he informed me that his three eldest daughters were already in the capital and awaiting further instruction."

Elia sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I wanted to wring Oberyn's neck when he told me but apparently they have been in contact with the Targaryens for years now and the queen herself is getting restless waiting for their time to return. She wants to see her grandson on the throne and they need allies in

Westeros if they are going to have any hope of coming back. She was most pleased when she found out that Rhaenys was going to marry the heir to the Vale."

"Because that would mean that Aegon would have the backing of the Targaryens across the sea as well as Dorne and the East," Jaime surmised quickly and

Elia nodded.

"Now both her and Doran's concern is finding a highborn lady for Aegon to marry so he too can have the backing of another major house."

"I suppose that's where Sansa Stark comes into play then," he said and Elia shrugged. "Perhaps, he might not even like her…but Lewyn and Oberyn seem convinced that the north is our best bet to put Aegon back on the throne."

"What I'm not convinced of is Ned Stark allowing this union to take place," Jaime said with a smirk. "Advocating for the lives of the royal children is one thing but allowing his daughter to marry the last Targaryen heir in Westeros is another thing entirely, especially given the nature of what happened to his sister."

Elia bristled. "I do not like to even think about that. Lyanna Stark was a mere child and Rhaegar Targaryen was a monster just like his father, albeit he was a different sort of monster but no less a reptile than his house's symbol. I do not blame Lord Stark at all for leading the north's armies to rescue her and his father and brother. We in Dorne understand a desire for vengeance and we were just as wronged by Rhaegar's actions as Lord Stark was. The bitter irony is that the Martells managed to escape unscathed and he lost over half his family. Why on earth would he agree to something like this?"

Jaime walked over to her and tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "Perhaps because Stark is not a man who bears a grudge. He is able to discern that the sins of the father should not transfer to the son. And if it's a consolation to you…Aegon is nothing Rhaegar, neither is Rhaenys for that matter. They had spent very little time with him before his death and if you were to ask him now I would make you a promise that Aegon has no memory of him. He has turned himself into his own person with the help of the right influences. I would not worry so much about him following in his father's footsteps. And besides, no contract has been put forth and it is unlikely that one will. Knowing Stark, he will no doubt already have a potential match in mind for his daughter in the north."

Elia released a breath but leaned into him, her forehead pressed against the top of his collarbone. "How is it that you always seem to have the unique practical ability to calm me down?"

"Perhaps it is because you have had the pleasure of knowing me for the last ten years," Jaime quipped.  
Elia rolled her eyes. "I can see your ego is still as large as ever. I knew you spending so much time with Oberyn was a bad idea."

She glanced back out the window only to find that Rhaenys and Jasper had disappeared, perhaps inside to meet up with Aegon some place. The Starks were supposed to arrive today after all.

"What is the reason that you think Lord Stark is coming south?" she asked and Jaime shrugged.

"Your guess would be as good as mine," the blonde said. "Perhaps he is looking for a match for his daughter or son. Maybe his intentions are entirely political. But if that is true, it would make sense that he would stop here as it is where his nephew resides."

"Jasper Arryn has a good head on his shoulders," she said softly. "He's been good for both Rhaenys and Aegon to be around these last few years. Its nice they had someone their own age to grow up with other than each other."

"He's steady," Jaime agreed. "Rhae can be…hotheaded. He's a cooling influence for her."

"Sometimes he's too calm though," Elia mused. "They are both four and ten and yet he has the disposition of someone twice his age. He is absolutely brilliant and nothing ever seems to ruffle him.

"Isn't that an admirable asset when you are to be the future Warden of the East?" Jaime said as he walked back over to the bed and reached for the sword that was sitting atop the trunk at the end of it.

"Yes, but I suppose I just didn't expect that level of clarity from someone so young," Elia said. "He almost appears….battle tested. Like he's seen war before. His eyes….they're the eyes of someone much older than four and ten."

Jaime frowned at her and she shook her head. "I'm probably imagining it….but he's going to be family before long if he isn't already. I'm going to have two sons not just one and that means more children to worry about."

"And that is something you do far too well," Jaime said smiling at her. "You worry about Jasper Arryn even though he isn't your son yet, you worry about Aegon's future and Rhaenys' happiness. You worry about Gerion and Loren and Joanna all the time even though I have assured you that nothing will touch them here. If I had my way, my father would never even know they existed. But unfortunately there are spies everywhere in Westeros and my father has many. He will know about them, but he will never know them. And that is as it should be."

"I wonder what your father's reaction was when he learned we had wed," Elia mused.

"Whatever it was, it certainly isn't something that you should spend your time thinking about," Jaime admonished her gently. "There are far too many things we need to be thinking about."

"Yes, like my foolish brothers and their plans to make Aegon a king," Elia muttered to herself. "I need to have a word with Oberyn and tell him to stop putting the cart before the horse. He keeps saying that the time is near and we need to strike while the iron is hot but from where I'm standing, Robert Baratheon is still alive and the Stormlands will fight for him. Aegon is a boy and he is a man and Baratheon I am sure is still looking for any excuse to rid Westeros of my children. Only when he is dead will they be safe."

Jaime opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come!" he called.

The door opened a second later to reveal a male servant in Arryn livery. "My apologies Ser Jaime, Lady Elia, but the Stark party has appeared at the High Road and Lord Jasper requests that you come at once."

"We're on our way," Jaime said and the man nodded and closed the door.

"Well I suppose we should go and greet the future queen of Westeros," Jaime said teasingly and Elia gasped before picking up a pillow from the bed and chucking it at him. "Don't you dare start Jaime Lannister! Our son is far too young to even think about marriage much less a kingdom!"

"Then you had better ensure that the entire kingdom didn't hear that," Jaime said smirking at her as he reached for the doorknob.

Elia quickly covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes. "Why on earth did I agree to marry you?"

Jaime looked at her for a long moment before leaving the door and striding across the room towards her. Before Elia could ask what he was doing, he had planted a long searing kiss on her lips. It set her heart to racing and her toes to tingling.

But when he pulled back and she tried to catch her breath, he kept his green eyes locked on hers. "You agreed to marry me because of one thing and one thing only. Do you remember what it was."

"Yes," she whispered back. "I said it was because you loved me better than anyone I had ever met. Not more….better. You loved me better than my former husband who ran off with a child. You loved me better than my new family who ignored me most of the time and you loved me better than my brothers who while the gods bless them, don't understand me as much you do. That's why I agreed to marry you."

Jaime's eyes sparkled. "And do you remember what I said after you had said all of that?"

"You said you had no choice but to love me, because you didn't think anyone else was doing it the right way," Elia whispered.

"I did," Jaime said. "And I made a vow on the day that the prince went off to war that if I ever had the chance to make you mine…I would love you better than he ever did."

"And you have," Elia replied. "No one has loved me the way you have…and no one ever will."

"Good," Jaime said with a gentle smile. "Finding a replacement for me would be very difficult I think."

"And there's the ego I've come to know and love," Elia said laughing. She grabbed his hand. "Come on, it's time to go and greet the guests."

Ω

Having received the information about his uncle and cousin's approach far earlier than Elia and Jaime, Jace had ensured he was attired in Arryn blue with a white cloak about his shoulders that connected to a silver chain that crisscrossed across his chest. His blonde hair was neatly combed and he decided against carrying a weapon.

Rhaenys was attired in purple like her eyes, she typically didn't wear her house colors often and chose neutral colors of purple, green, yellow for her mother's house or blue for Jace's.

Standing next to them was Aegon who was attired in all black which made his fair hair shine like gold.

Looking at the two of them made Jace smile. For the last decade, it had been the three of them against the world…his betrothed and his best friend.

"What are they like?" Rhaenys asked. "I don't have a lot of memory of Lord Stark."

"What do you remember?" Jace asked curiously.

"I remember a tall man with brown hair and grey eyes telling me that I was safe now and that no one would try to hurt me anymore," Rhaenys admitted. "I remember him because I thought he had kind eyes. And when he said no one would hurt me, I believed him."

"That sounds like Uncle Ned," Jace said with a small smile. "I have a few memories of him staying in the Eyrie when he was fostering here. He was always someone who was extremely calm. He never appeared anxious, always knew what to say. He was the complete opposite of Robert Baratheon who acted more than he thought."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rhaenys bristle at the mention of the king and he changed the subject smoothly. "I think my father liked having Uncle Ned around so much as it gave him less of a headache. He always made time for me, made sure I was taken care of. I was very happy when I found out he would be family."

"But you've never met your cousins," Aegon said.

"No," Jace replied. "Robb was born during the year of the rebellion so he's four years younger than me and Sansa is a year younger than him so she's nine."

"Still children then," Rhaenys said and Jace raised an eyebrow at her. "We're little more than children ourselves."

"Speak for yourself Jace," quipped Aegon. "We're halfway to manhood."

"You can't call yourself a man until you actually have hair on your chest," Rhaenys teased her brother. "Until that happens, you'll just be chasing a man."

"What's this about being a man?"

Jace looked up and grinned at the arrival of Jaime Lannister and Elia Martell hand in hand.

"Mother your son is having delusions about being a man at three and ten," Rhaenys teased.

"Four and ten soon," Aegon muttered.

"Yes and soon Jasper and I will be five and ten," Rhaenys said. "What is your point?"

Jaime chuckled. "There will be plenty of time before manhood is reached to learn what you need to know Aegon."

"And what's that Uncle Jaime?"

"How to not lose a sword match in such a convincing manner?" Rhaenys quipped and her mother gave the brunette a severe look. "Rhaenys."

"Just teasing mother," her daughter said before leaning over and giving her brother a kiss on the cheek.

"So you say," Jace said under his breath and she squeezed his hand.

A silence fell between the small group as the rest of the Arryn household arrived. A nurse appeared carrying Joanna who was promptly handed over to Elia with a smile and the twins arrived soon after followed by a huffing and puffing Maester Coleman.

They had obviously been having their lessons and the maester was easily tired by their effervescent energy.

Rhaenys reached out a hand and snagged the collar of Gerion as he ran past bringing him to a screeching halt. Without even looking she did the same thing to Loren who did everything his brother did and turned them around.

Jace watched in amusement as she knelt down in front of them, speaking stern words to her half brothers as they listened contritely.

There were few people that they listened to and Rhaenys was one of them. Whenever she spoke to them, she had their full attention.

 _I hope she's like that with our children,_ the blonde thought to himself absently. _She's going to be a good mother…just like Lady Elia._

And then he bit down on his lip to try and hide a smile. Thinking such thoughts about Rhaenys seemed natural and comfortable now with more than a decade to get used to the idea.

In fact he could almost picture a scenario where the two were sitting in the High Hall at breakfast with their children around them. He saw four in total, two boy and two girls. Some had dark hair like their mother with his blue eyes and some were fair haired with violet irises.

He smiled at the thought and then was interrupted by the sound of a trumpet blast and galloping horses.

 _Look alive Arryn,_ he thought to himself, _here they come._

A second later the iron gates to the large courtyard swung open and a contingent of horses galloped through them onto the cobbled stones.

It was a small party, only six men in Stark livery carrying the grey and white banners of the direwolf.

As soon as those six came through the gate a man followed on a tall black destrier. He was dressed in long furs and riding gloves. His long brown hair brushed his collar and his calm grey eyes looked over the entire courtyard as if it had been a long time since he had seen it last.

Which of course it had been.

Next to him was a boy with dark hair that had tones of red in it and his eyes were a deep blue, a Tully blue not like the sky blue Arryn of Jace's eyes.

It was obvious Robb Stark took after his mother. He was dressed in long furs like his father and as the horses came to a stop he took in the surroundings of the Eyrie with a wide eyed amazement that made Jace smile.

It was obvious that his uncle had told Robb all about his time here and the boy was matching up what he had learned with what he was seeing..

Jace had a feeling the Eyrie was living up to Robb's expectations.

Behind the pair rolled a small wheelhouse, the kind that was only made for two people and was streamlined so as to move faster than a normal carriage.

 _Sansa will likely be in that,_ Jace thought to himself.

When the horses came to a stop, he let go of Rhaenys' hand and stepped forward, eyes locked on the man he hadn't seen for ten years.

"Uncle Eddard!" he called. "It's been awhile."

Lord Stark who was dismounting from his horse turned at the sound of his name and when he caught sight of Jace walking towards him he smiled.

"Jasper Arryn," he said in a low quiet voice. "Gods it has been a long time. I remember a time where you were as high as my knee."

"I recall that as well," Jace said with a laugh as he stopped in front of his uncle. "But that didn't stop you or the king or my father from handing me a sword."

To his surprise, his uncle threw back his head and laughed. "It wasn't as if we could stop you. You wanted to do everything we did."

He paused there and looked around the Eyrie. "It seems you have done a more than adequate job governing the place in his absence. It looks exactly as I remember it."

"Thank you," Jace replied. "I hope I've done him proud."

To his surprise, his uncle smiled at him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think you are capable of doing anything that would disappoint him Jace."

He then straightened slightly and caught sight of the people standing several feet behind his nephew on the steps.

"Catching his look, Jace turned back towards Rhaenys and beckoned towards her. He was surprised to see that she looked almost nervous. Her hands had twisted themselves together but her face bore no expression.

At his gesture, she released her hands and walked down the last few steps towards him. Jace waited until she was near him before he reached down, took her hand and then keeping both of their hands raised, led her back over to the Warden of the North.

"Uncle Eddard," he said with a bit of an official air. "I believe you remember Lady Rhaenys Targaryen, my betrothed."

"I do indeed," Stark said and then bowed to the brunette before giving her a small smile. "It's been a long time my lady. I can see that your time in the Eyrie has treated you well."

"It has my lord, thank you," Rhaenys said softly. "And you had a hand in that."

"Any man with honor would have done as I did," Lord Stark replied. "And if I am not mistaken, it was Lord Arryn who insisted you come to the Eyrie to live. His character is worthy of the highest praise in this matter."

"Yes, yes it is."

"My son and heir Robb Stark," Eddard said gesturing to the shorter boy who had just got down from his horse and was looking at them somewhat warily.

"My son," Eddard said somewhat formally. "This is your cousin Jasper Arryn and his betrothed Lady Rhaenys."

"It's wonderful to meet you cousin," Robb said with his eyes somewhat wide and Jace grinned. Any son of his Uncle was bound to have impeccable manners.

"You as well Robb," he said with a grin. "But there's no need for all of the formalities. We're family remember? Just call me Jace, everyone here does."

His cousin gave him a tentative smile. "Alright."

In the process of their talking, Lord Stark had walked over to the small wheelhouse where no doubt his daughter was riding and opened the door. "And allow me to introduce my daughter Lady Sansa."

A small slender girl peeked her head out from the doorway of the wheelhouse. Her auburn curls fell in ringlets about her face. She was wearing a blue dress, Tully blue no doubt and she was looking over the castle before her with a calculating eye.

She must have decided what she was seeing was adequate because she reached out to take her father's hand and stepped out of the carriage.

Like the couple had speculated about before, she was a child, a child with wide blue eyes and red curls who looked like she was seeing something she had longed to see for a long time. Her eyes were fixated on the white towers with a look of almost awe on her face that it made Jace smile.

"Daughter," Stark said interrupting her perusal. "I would like to introduce you to your cousin Jasper Arryn and his betrothed Lady Rhaenys Targaryen."  
Sansa's eyes snapped onto the couple standing before her and her eyes went wide again as if she were seeing something she had only read about or been told about.

To Jace's amusement she smiled somewhat shyly and curtsied. "Hello cousin, it's wonderful to meet you at last. Father's told us a lot about you."

Jace raised an eyebrow and looked at his uncle Ned who was looking around with a funny half smile on his face. "Oh and what has he told you?"

Robb decided to chime in then. "He said that you wanted to learn how to use a sword when you were four years old."

"Uncle Eddard has a good memory," Jace said with a grin. "I remember sitting on a bench in the training yard swinging my legs back and forth and watching as my father trained him."

Rhaenys for her part was looking carefully at Sansa and noticed that her eyes had gone wide and her cheeks had a distinctly pink hue.

She cast her eyes behind her briefly only to find that Aegon was the subject of the small red head's fascination.

She grinned to herself. Her brother would love to know that he was the subject of a female's attention, even if the female in question was her herself nine years old.

Then she paused, on second thought maybe he wouldn't like it. Sansa Stark was a child and Aegon was three and ten. Four years difference wasn't a lot but it was when they were at this age.

She took a look back at the red head who was ignoring the conversation that her cousin and brother were having with her father and just staring at her blonde brother.

 _Gods if she's this dewy eyed at nine years of age, I shudder to think of what she's going to be like when she's my age!_

Rhaenys eyed her carefully. _She's at an age where she's going to be very impressionable. I'll have to see if I can talk to her at all while she's here without everyone else around. No girl should go through life, especially this one looking like that._

Ω

Later that evening at a celebratory dinner in honor of their guests, Jace was sitting at the High table on the ancient weirwood chair of House Arryn with Rhaenys on his right and Aegon on his life. His Uncle and cousins were sitting just down the table next to Elia and Jaime and Ned was engaging in quiet conversation with the latter.

The two hadn't seen each other since the rebellion and Jace imagined they had some catching up to do. Three men had been responsible for saving the princess and her children after all and two of them were in this room.

Ned must have already known that Jaime and Elia had married because he kept looking at their two sons with a small smile on his face as if the notion of young children filling a castle made him happy.

Jace remembered that his uncle had two other young children at Winterfell, a boy and a girl called Bran and Arya respectively.

So far his Uncle Edmure hadn't married and produced an heir so he had yet to have any Tully cousins.

"She's staring at me," Aegon muttered out of the side of his mouth and Jace frowned. "Who?"

"Your cousin," his best friend said. "She's been staring at me all afternoon!"

"Maybe she likes you," Rhaenys teased softly from his other side. "Poor girl, she probably hasn't been exposed to many eligible men in north. You haven't really been exposed to many girls either."

"That will have to change at some point," Jace muttered into his wine glass and his brother and betrothed turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Aegon asked.

"I mean it won't be long before I'm going to have to find you someplace to settle down," Jace explained reaching for the bread at the side of his plate. "You know there are spies in the Vale who report to the capital right? Don't think that just because we are secluded among the rocks and the mountains that people can't see what goes on here. Before long I am certain that your Uncles will begin looking into matches for you. Dornish matches most likely."

Aegon coughed on the sip of wine he had taken. "Gods, I hope not. I don't want to marry someone I've never met."

Jace and Rhaenys exchanged glances. "That's how most marriages are arranged. You never really meet the person you marry until right before."

"That's certainly not how it worked for either of you," Aegon pointed out, "or for mother and Uncle Jaime."

And all of a sudden it clicked for Jace. His friend was telling him in no uncertain terms that he didn't want to marry someone he had never met before and he felt he shouldn't have to given that his mother and sister were with people that they had met and were familiar and comfortable with.

Rhae's eyes were narrowed at her brother but Jace decided to hurriedly change the subject. "Well at the very least we can start looking for potential holdfasts for you. As soon you're settled down, perhaps we can put people's fears of a potential rebellion to rest."

Aegon nearly choked on the wine he had been sipping and had to turn away until he had regained control. "Do people really think that?"

"Don't be dense Aegon," Rhaenys snapped. She raised her goblet to her mouth to hide her words. "You're the last male Targaryen in Westeros with a legitimate claim to the throne. Of course there are going to be people keeping an eye on you."

Aegon shrugged carelessly. "Let them look, I haven't done anything wrong."

"It's not about doing anything wrong," his sister said. "You have to give them reason to believe you're going to try and make a play for the throne. People might be worried about that

given the fact that I'm marrying Jace. With the backing of Dorne and the Vale, you could be a legitimate threat."

"Excuse me but perhaps this conversation could take place at a time when we're alone," Jace hissed at his betrothed and she immediately looked contrite. "I trust everyone in this room but that doesn't mean we need to be reckless."

"Sorry," Rhaenys said looking a little contrite.

Later that evening, Jace had taken it upon himself to show Robb around the Eyrie whilst Rhaenys said as the future Lady of the Eyrie, she would show Sansa around.

Jace knew she wanted to talk to the girl and silently hoped she would go easy on his cousin. Rhaenys was remarkably protective of anyone she cared about.

He had been shocked when she had acted so possessive about his going to the capital but now it was all beginning to make sense.

Rhaenys had been in danger of having everything good in her life ripped away from her as a girl and she didn't want the same thing to almost happen again.

Aegon had turned in early for the night, most likely to avoid Sansa's adoring looks.

At the moment both Jace and Robb were standing on one of the balconies of the one the Eyrie's many towers looking out at the Mountains of the Moon.

"You're awfully quiet Robb," Jace said glancing down at his ten year old cousin with a smile. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing," the boy said blinking as if his thoughts had been interrupted. "It's just….its' so big here. So wide. My father told me stories…but I guess you really have to see it to believe it."

"The world's a lot bigger than the places where we grow up isn't it?" Jace asked. "I've been all over the Vale and I likely won't spend too much time outside of it. But my father's told me stories about the capital."

"What's it like?" Robb asked.

"To be honest," Jace said leaning forward as if he were about to share an important secret. "He says its not very nice, that it smells and the people aren't very friendly. He prefers the Vale."

"My father says Winterfell is better than the capital too," Robb agreed. "He's been there before but he doesn't talk about it much. I think it has something to do with my aunt Lyanna."

Upon hearing that name, Jace grimaced. He had only been four when his uncle had ridden off to war but he remembered every emotion he had felt that day, the nerves on the faces of the men, the anxiety on the face of his mother, the grimness of his father and Nestor Royce.

"The war changed a lot of people," he said softly. "Least of all your father. I confess I didn't think he was going to come south ever again."

"He wasn't going to," Robb paused as if he were about to reveal something that he probably shouldn't. "But then…."

Jace frowned at him. "But what?"

Robb sighed. "He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the Night's Watch."

Jace's eyes narrowed even further. "The Night's Watch? What about them?"

He knew enough about the history of the once storied brotherhood to understand that much of their glory came from stories.

He was also somewhat familiar with the fact that their ranks had dropped in the last few hundred years.

Robb bit down on the edge of his lip. "I probably shouldn't say but…you're my cousin so I can trust you right?"

"Of course," Jace said frowning feeling like he was about to hear something ominous.

"Well, the Night's Watch is in trouble," Robb said, his voice dropping exponentially. "Father says that Rangers have been disappearing on missions into the north. And than one was brought back on a horse that was half frozen to death. And he hasn't spoken since. Well except for one word."

"What was the word?" Jace asked.

Robb looked to his left and his right as if checking to make sure that no one was around before he leaned even closer.

"He said the word….wights."

Ω

 **Well, its been a while since I've updated this, but I hope you guys like it. So in this chapter Rhaenys, Aegon and Jace have all welcomed the Stark party. Doran and Oberyn have designs to place Aegon on the throne as they sense Robert's grasp on it is growing weaker and the north is in trouble. I think that about sums it up. Don't forget to review and I hope you enjoy!**


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